The only problem with the Stoics is that when they are taken in their raw form, they can be unacceptably bitter to modern tastes. In How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, Donald Robertson sugars the pill a little, making it digestible. He uses the teachings of Marcus Aurelius and other stoic philosophers as a foundation, and then builds a structure of modern techniques for finding peace and self-improvement on top of it. The following day, Marcus awakens early, feeling extremely frail and weary. His fever is worse. Realizing that these are his last hours, he summons Commodus. The series of wars against hostile Germanic and Sarmatian tribes that Marcus has been fighting for over a decade now is already in its final stages. He urges his son to bring them to a satisfactory conclusion by assuming personal command of the army, pursuing the remaining enemy tribes until they surrender, and overseeing the complex peace negotiations currently underway. Marcus warns Commodus that if he doesn’t remain at the front, the Senate may view it as a betrayal after so much has been invested in the long wars and so many lives have been lost in battle. The author segues from history, to Stoic philosophy, to modern cognitive behavior therapy with grace and art. The sensible and peaceful mind that Marcus Aurelius cultivated was revealed and then recast into the 21st century so that we can learn to harness the power of Stoic thinking, too. This book was life changing honestly. I had no idea what Stoicism truly was and how closely related to modern day therapeutic practices it is. Written by a therapist who has extensively studied philosophy, this book has not only given me new insight on dealing with anxiety but also on living your life with perspective and and in accordance with your own values. It's necessary to learn a great many things about another person before we can deliver a firm opinion concerning their personality and motives.

Robertson distills the emperor’s philosophy into useful mental habits...[he] displays a sound knowledge of Marcus' life and thought...[his] accessible prose style contributes to its appeal...[the] book succeeds on its own terms, presenting a convincing case for the continuing relevance of an archetypal philosopher-king." — The Wall Street Journal Donald Robertson, a cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist, looks at how the writing in the mediations can be seen as a premodern version of the psychological strategy. Remembering that other people are human, and flawed can help you to receive criticism (or praise) from them in a more balanced and less emotional way.How to follow your values. Have an mentor, who can be even imagined. This chapter describes very helpful routines:

He continues to meditate patiently, albeit drowsily, on the mortality of the emperors who preceded him. There’s nothing left of any of them now but bones and dust. Their once illustrious lives have gradually become insignificant to subsequent generations, who have already half-forgotten them. Even their names sound old, evoking memories of another era. As a boy, the Emperor Hadrian had befriended Marcus, and the two used to go boar hunting together. Now there are young officers under Marcus’s command for whom Hadrian is just a name in the history books, his real, living body long ago replaced by lifeless portraits and statues. Antoninus, Hadrian, Augustus—all equally dead and gone. Everyone from Alexander the Great right down to his lowly mule driver ends up lying under the same ground. King and pauper alike, the same fate ultimately awaits everyone … I took the phrase “I am that I am” to refer to the pure awareness of existence itself, which at first seemed like something deeply mystical or metaphysical to me: “I am the consciousness of my own existence.” It reminded me of the famous inscription from the Delphic Oracle’s shrine: Know Thyself. That became one of my maxims. I grew quite obsessed with the pursuit of self-knowledge, through meditation and all forms of contemplative exercises.The stoics didn't view joy as end of life, that would be wisdom. But they saw joy as by-product of if, so they believed that pursuit it directly might lead to wrong path. The final chapter of this book is written in a different style, resembling a guided meditation. It’s closely based on ideas presented in The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, although I’ve paraphrased his words to turn them into a longer account that’s deliberately intended to evoke mental imagery and a more elaborate contemplative experience. I’ve also included a few sayings and ideas derived from other Stoic authors. I gave it the form of an internal monologue or fantasy because I felt that was a good way to present the Stoic contemplation of death and the “view from above.” I also very much enjoyed how this played out as a history book from Marcus earlier years to his final moments he’s one of my favourite Roman emperors so it was a nice added touch! Stoicism is about changing how you think and control your emotions, and this is what Robertson says is a premodern concept of the therapy strategy.

The use of reason is the only way to modify unhealthy habits, which are usually the result of blindly following our emotions. Our most natural reactions are often the most harmful. Marcus, for example, had to battle with severe outbursts of anger when he was younger. However, despite being predisposed psychologically to bouts of anger, Marcus trained himself to act more reasonably and calmly, even in the face of betrayal by his general Gaius Avidius Cassius, who declared himself emperor and started a civil war. Marcus reminded himself that people act according to what they think is right, and if they act dishonorably, they do so in error and therefore deserve our sympathy rather than our contempt.Next chapter teaches us about the five virtues of speech. Also about how virtues are the most important things for Stoics. You can never be certain of other peoples motives. Without knowing someones intentions we can never really be sure they're doing wrong.

Marcus, of course, was not only a Stoic philosopher; he was also a leader, the emperor of Rome. If anyone deserves the title of Plato’s “philosopher king,” it’s Marcus Aurelius, and if any Stoic is truly worth emulating, it’s also probably him. Do not act as if you will live 10,000 years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good Most new Stoicism books try in a perfidious fashion to 'modernise' Stoicism - presenting it as some sort of a 'Western yoga class' - which is not only wrong, but in the end makes a really unpersuasive argument for being a modern Stoic (why do the copy, do the original yoga). Since completing his journal of reflections on philosophy several years earlier, Marcus has been passing through the final stage of a lifelong spiritual journey. Now lying in pain and discomfort, nearing the end, he gently reminds himself that he has already died many times along the way. First of all, Marcus the child died as he entered the imperial palace as heir to the throne, assuming the title Caesar after Hadrian passed away. After Antoninus passed away, Marcus the young Caesar had to die when he took his place as emperor of Rome. Leaving Rome behind to take command of the northern legions during the Marcomannic Wars signaled another death: a transition to a life of warfare and a sojourn in a foreign land. Now, as an old man, he faces his death not for the first time but for the last. From the moment we’re born we’re constantly dying, not only with each stage of life but also one day at a time. Our bodies are no longer the ones to which our mothers gave birth, as Marcus put it. Nobody is the same person he was yesterday. Realizing this makes it easier to let go: we can no more hold on to life than grasp the waters of a rushing stream. Most new Stoicism books tend to be quasi-historic at best and pseudohistoric at worst, presenting dubious interpretation of selective facts only to suit their personal understanding of Stoicism. Since Donald Robertson was a psychotherapist I was genuinely worried that this is going to be the case here and in the end was pleasantly surprised by the amount of research and respect for the historical approach. The book has a perspective, but is written in an intelligent and accurate manner.This philosophical attitude toward death didn’t come naturally to Marcus. His father passed away when Marcus was only a few years old, leaving him a solemn child. When he reached seventeen, he was adopted by the Emperor Antoninus Pius as part of a long-term succession plan devised by his predecessor, Hadrian, who had foreseen the potential for wisdom and greatness in Marcus even as a small boy. Nevertheless, he had been most reluctant to leave his mother’s home for the imperial palace. Antoninus summoned the finest teachers of rhetoric and philosophy to train Marcus in preparation for succeeding him as emperor. Among his tutors were experts on Platonism and Aristotelianism, but his main philosophical education was in Stoicism. These men became like family to him. When one of his most beloved tutors died, it’s said that Marcus wept so violently that the palace servants tried to restrain him. They were worried that people would find his behavior unbecoming of a future ruler. However, Antoninus told them to leave Marcus alone: “Let him be only a man for once; for neither philosophy nor empire takes away natural feeling.” Years later, after having lost several young children, Marcus was once again moved to tears in public while presiding over a legal case, when he heard an advocate say in the course of his argument: “Blessed are they who died in the plague.”1 Following Caesar’s assassination, his great-nephew Octavian became Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire. Augustus had a famous Stoic tutor called Arius Didymus, which perhaps set a precedent for the Roman emperors who followed, most notably Marcus, to associate themselves with the philosophy. A few generations after Augustus, the Stoic philosopher Seneca was appointed rhetoric tutor to the young Emperor Nero, later becoming his speechwriter and political advisor—a position that clearly placed a strain on Seneca’s Stoic moral values as Nero degenerated into a cruel despot. At the same time, a political faction called the Stoic Opposition, led by a senator called Thrasea, was attempting to take a principled stand against Nero and those subsequent emperors whom they considered tyrants. Marcus would later mention his admiration for Cato, Thrasea, and others associated with them, which is intriguing because these Stoics had been famous opponents, or at least critics, of imperial rule. Stoicism helped Aurelius in coping with his feelings of grief or fear. Aurelius would have been exposed to stoic ideas through people like Arrian of Nicomedia, close to his adoptive grandfather. He looks at why people till this day find comfort in his writing. After all, this is an emperor ruling 1853 years ago, yet we are drawn to his writing, and the reason could be for quotes such as “You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”