Marcus Aurelius — Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius, 'Meditations' 10.16
The shortest possible cure for overthinking. Debate can imitate progress indefinitely; being cannot be faked and cannot be postponed.
Swap the noun and it still holds. Waste no more time researching the perfect method for learning English. Open something, read it, say it aloud. Be a learner today.
Words that widen the world
To give reasons for or against something; to debate.
Synonyms: debate, dispute, contend
Stop arguing about method and begin.
To be a clear example of a quality or idea.
Synonyms: personify, represent, exemplify
Don't describe it — embody it.
Common questions
It means stop debating ideals in theory and simply act on them — being good matters more than defining goodness.
From 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius, book 10, section 16.
Carry it with you
In your own words, what does this thought mean to you? Write three or four sentences in English about a moment when it felt true — saying it yourself is how it stays with you.
Read more from Marcus Aurelius
A hand-picked book or collection to sit with this idea longer. Affiliate links — replace # with your tagged URL.
Explore the readingLove this one? Order it as a print or poster → (shop coming soon)