Welcome to the Daily Quote, the podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, and this episode is brought to you by the Great News podcast. Because great news should be heard, and the link is right here in the show notes.
Support the show Buy me a coffee
Today's quote is from Marcus Aurelius:
He once said…
”If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.”
Two questions. ..
Not ”will this work out?”
Not ”will people like it?”
Just: is it right, and is it true?
Most of our regrets don’t come from the big, dramatic choices. It comes from the small ones, the thing we said when we knew it wasn't quite true, the thing we did when we knew it wasn't quite right.
And then we spent far longer justifying these decisions than it did to commit them.Not every thought needs to be shared, and not every opinion we have is well thought out. Before you speak make sure what you are saying is true. We can ask ourselves whether what we're about to say is true, necessary, and fair.
Is it true? Do you really need to say it? And will it hurt others or your own reputation if you say it?
Choose your words carefully.
If it is not true, don’t say it.
And choose your actions carefully too.
It’s easy to talk about principles but the real test comes when doing the right thing costs us something. Money, popularity, an opportunity or the approval of others. If it is not right, do not do it.
When you go about your day today and you are about to take action; ask if it's right. Before you speak, ask if it's true.
If the answer to either one is no, you already know what to do. And if the answer to both is yes, you can move forward without that nagging feeling in the back of your mind.
So here’s the question:
What difficult decision is in front of you today that might get clearer when you run it through those two questions?
Live your life by this standard and you will probably do well.
That’s going to do it for today. I’m Andrew McGivern signing off for now, but I’ll be back… tomorrow! Same pod time, same pod station with another Daily Quote.
