Brian Johnson explains why harsh critics often dislike themselves, citing Marcus Aurelius: their disapproval has no real value. Stay open to feedback, but don't let opinions from people who can't respect themselves shake you.
Hi, this is Brian with another mini chapter from A Philosopher's Notes. This one's called 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, oh heavenly. Why 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. Don't take it personally. Marcus Aurelius actual quote is the approval of such men who do not even stand well in their own eyes has no value for him. In other words, if people don't even like themselves, why should we be over concerned about what they think of us? Be open to feedback for sure, but come on, if people can't even form a positive opinion of themselves, let's not take it too personally what they think about us. There you go. Hope you enjoyed. Look forward to joining soon.
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