Jonas Salzgeber Quotes

“Courage is about knowing how to act and feel correctly when facing fearful situations. Courage includes bravery, perseverance, honesty, and confidence. It opposes the vice of cowardice.”

“Eudaimonia is a happy and smoothly flowing life that comes from thriving at bringing our moment-to-moment actions into harmony with our highest self.”

“Expressing the highest version of yourself moment to moment to moment.”

“Focus on what you control. This is the most prominent principle in Stoicism.

At all times, we need to focus on the things we control, and take the rest as it happens.”

“If we want to be the best we can be in every situation, if we want to live with areté, then we need to be aware of our every step.”

“Imagine a fire. Every obstacle gets consumed and used as fuel. If there’s nothing standing in the way, the fire dies. You are that fire.

Nothing really is an obstacle because they only feed you and make you stronger. Marcus Aurelius calls this ability to use obstacles for fuel 'turning the obstacle upside down'.”

“In Stoicism, what you do with the given circumstances matters much more.

Stoics recognized that the good life depends on the cultivation of one’s character, on one’s choices and actions rather than on what happens in the uncontrollable world around us.”

“Just because life slaps, kicks, spits, and knocks us out doesn’t mean we should give up and leave, it means we should get back up and keep on getting better. Such is life — it’s like our boxing ring, punches and kicks are what we’ve signed up for, this is our discipline.”

“Justice is about knowing how to act and feel well in our relationships with others. Justice includes good-heartedness, integrity, public service, and fairness. It opposes the vice of wrongdoing or injustice.”

“Let’s remember that rational and wise people don’t insult others, at least not on purpose.”

“Life is neither good nor bad; it is the space for both good and bad.”

“Live with Areté: Express your highest self in every moment. If we want to be on good terms with our highest self, we need to close the gap between what we’re capable of and what we’re actually doing.

This is really about being your best version in the here and now. It’s about using reason in our actions and living in harmony with deep values.

This is obviously easier said than done, what supports this ambitious goal is to separate good from bad and focus on what we control.”

“Marcus Aurelius advises to speak only what you think is just, and always do so with kindness, modesty, and sincerity.”

“No tree becomes deep-rooted and sturdy unless strong winds blow against it. This shaking and pulling is what makes the tree tighten its grip and plant its roots more securely; the fragile trees are those grown in a sunny valley.”

“Nothing but opinion is the cause of a troubled mind.”

“Once the hand has been dealt, you have no choice but accept what’s too late to change, and you wish no longer for a more preferable hand but for the strength to play it the best you can.”

“Philosophy is not reserved for wise old men, it’s an essential craft for everybody who wants to learn how to live (and die) well.”

“Remember that things don’t happen against you. So remove your sense of having been wronged. You haven’t. The universe isn’t against you.”

“Self-Discipline (or temperance) is about knowing how to act and feel right, despite emotions such as strong desire, inner resistance, or lust.

Self-discipline includes orderliness, self-control, forgiveness, and humility. It opposes the vice of excess.”

“Stoicism has nothing to do with suppressing or hiding one’s emotions or being emotionless. Rather, it’s about acknowledging our emotions, reflecting on what causes them, and learning to redirect them for our own good.

In other words, it’s more about unslaving ourselves from negative emotions, more like taming rather than getting rid of them.”

“Stoicism: Philosophy trains us to be able to take on every obstacle in life with the right mindset so that life keeps on going smoothly.”

“Take Responsibility: Good and bad come solely from yourself.”

“The fragile trees are those grown in a sunny valley.”

“The hallmark of an admirable poker player is that he plays the best regardless of his hands. In the end, not the one with the objectively best cards, but the one who plays his cards the best, wins.

You don’t get to choose the hands you’re dealt, only how you want to play them. Your hands in poker as in life are indifferent, learn to accept them equally, without judging.

If you can do that, if you can accept rather than resist what happens, then you will no longer be dependent upon things being in a certain way.”

“The reserve clause implies two points: Do your very best to succeed and simultaneously know and accept that the outcome is beyond your direct control.”

“The Stoic art of acquiescence: Accept and love Whatever happens.”

“The sword of justice is ill-placed in the hands of an angry man.”

“This is what Stoic philosophy is here for — it will make you stronger and let the same rain and wind appear lighter and keep you on your feet at all times.”

“We must realize that external events are neutral, and only how we choose to react to them makes them good or bad.”

“We negate our very humanity and fall to the state of a sheep when we let our actions become impulsive and inconsiderate.”