The happiness and unhappiness of the rational, social animal depends not on what he feels but on what he does; just as his virtue and vice consist not in feeling but in doing.

— Marcus Aurelius

RESILIENCE

WHAT THIS MEANS

Where you end up is settled by conduct rather than by mood. Feelings arrive without permission and carry no verdict with them: you can be envious and still behave well, frightened and still do the thing, low and still keep your word. What you did is the part that stays, for you and for everyone else.

Stop waiting to feel like it. Take the smallest action that belongs to the thing you have been putting off and do it in the mood you currently have. Notice afterwards that the mood often follows, which is a bonus rather than the reason.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

What would change if you acted before you felt ready?

MORE IN DISCIPLINE, WORK & STANDARDS

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