Those who do not observe the movements of their own minds

Commentary on Meditations 2.8

Do you know your own mind?

We’re often preoccupied with others’ thoughts more than our own. And yet, if you do not understand how you think, you will not improve your thinking and you will be frustrated.

Marcus Aurelius penned this reminder to himself in Meditations.

2.8

Through not observing what is in the mind of another a man has seldom been unhappy; but those who do not observe the movements of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy.

Notes

This short entry from the Roman emperor’s Meditations brings to mind the Delphic maxim:

γνῶθι σεαυτόν