121–180 CE · Stoicism
Marcus Aurelius on anxiety
Marcus traced anxiety back to its real source: not the world, but his own judgements about it. Each morning he reminded himself that nothing outside the mind has power to disturb it, and that peace returns the moment you withdraw the opinion that something is wrong.
Today I escaped from anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions, not outside.
Marcus Aurelius — Meditations, Book 9
Try this
- When anxious, find the judgement you've attached to the event, then question it.
- Return to the present task; a mind kept in the present has nothing to fear.
Questions
What did Marcus Aurelius say about anxiety?
Marcus traced anxiety back to its real source: not the world, but his own judgements about it. Each morning he reminded himself that nothing outside the mind has power to disturb it, and that peace returns the moment you withdraw the opinion that something is wrong.
Where did Marcus Aurelius write about anxiety?
In Meditations, Book 9.
Ask Marcus about your anxiety
Put your own situation to Marcus Aurelius and hear the answer in their own words.
Talk to Marcus