Sometimes we get too enchanted by Analytic Philosophy that we forget about the original purpose of Philosophy: to give practical wisdom that every man—even the blindest and poorest—could understand and apply to their lives to better themselves. In light of that, I decided to share my ever-growing list of aphorisms that I re-read every morning to help calibrate my mind to have a good day; and I hope that these may be of some use to others.

I added citations loosely when applicable, but since it is a personal list I never felt the need (when constructing it over-time) to give formal citations and some of them I either made up or sublated. For those that are paraphrased or refurbished, I am still including a loose citation for what originally inspired it. Any discussions or thoughts about these aphorisms are welcome in this thread :smile: ; and I open to any aphorisms that anyone believes are good for practical life/wisdom, and will add them to the list if I find any of them worthy.

1. I’ve been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened. (Mark Twain)

2. Excellent people plan in centuries and think in days.

3. It can only harm you if it manages to damage your character—remember that. (Meditations, Book 4, p.39, #8)

4. A shallow well overflowing with water.

5. Reality is not a reflection.

6. Having hope is like drinking salt water.

7. Angels are made in hell.

8. The impossibility of one being wrong does not entail that they are absolutely right.

9. Don’t mistake self-reliance for arrogance, and don’t become arrogant to be self-reliant.

10. Fight your emotions to control them—not to eradicate them.

11. People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character. (Emerson)

12. All the Devil truly has the power to do is hurt your flesh. Train your spirit to be so self-sufficient, so tranquil and untampered by the external, that the Devil can no longer find you.

13. When parsing a person’s position, always remember that the schema one uses depends on the data they think needs explaining; and, so, each concept they deploy will be evolved—so to speak—to function specifically for the sake of getting at the problems which they wish to address.

14. Have so much control that even when you have none you can still laugh.

15. Question your questions before finding answers.

16. The greatest enemy is an assumption.

17. The mind is radioactive until it decays into itself.

18. There is nothing more honorable than the ant which gladly accepts being crushed to retain its values.

19. When you are receiving the blows, take comfort in the fact that it is impossible to play and fight with a demon at the same time.

20. It is time to venture to the most insufferable of places, so that my demons will not dare to join me.

21. Your greatest strength or weakness is that you are a social creature—it is up to you to decide which one it will be.

22. The pains of heaven are far better than the comforts of hell.

23. To truly understand a person, you must swim in the waters that drowned them.

24. Suffering is the currency of greatness.

25. Ridicule from those on a path which I do not wish to follow is praise.

26. Just as the body is made up of 70% water, so is the soul made up of 70% darkness. You will surely never step foot into heaven, if you are not willing to tear off your face and dive into that abyss.

27. I can think of no better qualification of love, than to be able to converse through old age while still finding each other’s company invigorating.

28. You were born many men, and will die one—so choose carefully.

29. Life only makes sense backwards, but must be lived forwards.

30. Authentic people have a tendency to be killed.

31. The colors of your thoughts are the shadows of the depths of your soul: color them with the kind of things you would proud of when you are an old person sitting on a bench watching the birds sing while reminiscing about life.

32. Holding people accountable is best properly understood as the mean between criticizing a person’s actions and having sympathy for the factors which made them the way they are.

33. Only say what aligns with what you do.

34. Writing is just the linguistic expression of a feeling that escaped.

35. My sickness is what makes me well, and their wellness makes them sick.

36. When people reform themselves, they take prisoners when they should be making executions: the only way is through.

37. Take the blows, and they lose; take the praise, and you lose.

38. Needing a knife that is sharper than a knife is a sign of irrationality.

39. The right thing to do and the hardest thing to do are usually the same thing.

40. You do not truly love someone if a part of you does not die with them.

41. Be the harshest monster to protect her, and the gentlest angel to love her. In every man, the demon and angel should be there.

42. She died for beauty; he for truth; and I for myself.

43. The way people treat you is a reflection of how they see you; the way you let people treat you is a reflection of how you see yourself.

44. Confidence is silent; insecurity is loud.

45. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. (Aristotle)

46. Fear is a mile wide, but only an inch deep.

47. Nature’s wants are small, while those of opinion are limitless. (Letters From a Stoic [Seneca], L XVI, p. 65)

48. Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been. (Meditations, Book 4, p. 39, #7)

49. No random actions, none not based on underlying principles. (Meditations, Book 4, p. 37)

50. What doesn’t transmit light creates its own darkness. (Meditations, Book 8, p. 113, #57)

51. A cage went in search of a bird. (Zuerau Aphorisms, Aphorism 16, p. 14)

52. Success is failing better. (Samuel Beckett)

53. To be immortal is to be a prisoner to existence.

54. I am a slow walker, but I never walk back. (Abraham Lincoln)

55. Do not explain one’s philosophy—embody it. (Epictetus)

56. The tree which strives towards heaven must send its roots to hell. (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, p. 69)

57. If one wants something they’ve never had, then they must do something they’ve never done.

58. A man’s worth is measured by what he devotes his energy towards. (Meditations, Book 7, p. 85)

59. The man who walks in the pure light and the man who walks in pure darkness are equally blind. (Science of Logic, s. 36, p. 77)

60. Be strict with yourself, and lenient with others.

61. True love makes you no longer want to be self-sufficient.

62. I’ll take care of me for you; and you take care of you for me.

63. It is not a valid excuse that virtue was inconvenient at the time, or that so-and-so told you do this or that. Your soul is in your keeping alone. (King Baldwin IV)

64. In dating, allowing one’s insecurities to dictate their actions turns into a self-fulfilled prophecy.

65. Everybody that you fight is not your enemy; and everyone that helps you is not your friend. (Mike Tyson)

66. The road to hell feels like heaven; and the road to heaven feels like hell.

67. Listen to your mind—not your body.

68. If you wrote a book about your life and gave it to someone, would it change their life for the better? (David Goggins)

69. We become what we think about most of the time.

70. The reason most people fail is not because they lack the potential; but because they trade their long-term goals for short-term gains. (Napoleon Bonaparte)

71. Purpose over pleasure.

72. Let me fall if I must fall. The one I am becoming will catch me. (Baal Shem Tov)

73. You grow proportionately to the weight you take on voluntarily. (Jordan Peterson)

74. If you win, then you don’t have to explain yourself; and if you lose, then you shouldn’t even be there to explain it. Don’t take easy paths.

75. If they don’t have what you want, then don’t listen to what they say [about it].

76. What you are too afraid to overcome, becomes your limitations.

77. Value truth more than people. (Kant)

78. Love should be played like a chess game where the rules are broken from time-to-time: it is about finding the right balance between rationality and ‘arationality’.

79. No carelessness in your actions. No confusion in your words. No imprecision in your thoughts. No retreating into your soul, or trying to escape things. No overactivity. (Meditations, Book 8, p. 112)

80. Happiness and unhappiness are twin sisters: they either grow up together or remain small together. (The Gay Science, Book 4, p. 270)

81. Normality is a paved road: it’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it. (Vincent Van Gogh)

82. Every man I meet is in some way my superior, and in that, I can learn from him. (Emerson)

83. If you want peace, then prepare for war. (si vis pacem, para bellum)

84. Skipping a habit twice is a new habit.

85. Suffering is a choice. [ Pain is not a choice, but suffering is. ]

86. You can give them the key, but you cannot show them how to use it.