A short podcast mini-chapter in which Brian Johnson advises listeners not to take criticism personally, arguing that critics who are self-disliking lack authority to judge others. He cites a passage from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and closes with a call-to-action to sign up for his newsletter and get the full book.
You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson More Wisdom in Less Time this is a mini chapter from Brian's book A Philosopher's Notes. You can find it on Amazon.
Don't take it personally. A lot of teachers talk about the importance of not taking stuff personally. Marcus Aurelius has my favorite gem. He basically asks us, why in the world should we care what people who don't even like themselves think of us? Think about it for a moment. The people who tend to get most pissy and critical and all up in their stuff about how much they dislike us or something we're doing tend to be the ones who most strongly dislike themselves. So why, O heavenly, why should should we give a poop what they think of us if they can't even form a positive opinion of themselves? Exactly. We shouldn't. So let's not Little footnote here. Here's the passage from Aurelius classic Meditations. He says the approval of such men who do not even stand well in their own eyes has no value for him. Check out the Philosopher's Note for more. Goodness on that.
We hope you enjoyed this mini chapter from Brian's book A Philosopher's Notes Want more wisdom in Less time delivered in your inbox? Sign up for Brian's free daily newsletter, the Optimizer, and get the full ebook and audiobook at BrianJohnson. Me slash.
