He tells himself over and over again in any choice presented to him, Prefer the hard. This holds good not only in great matters, but also in very small, in fighting by the frozen Danube and in starting the day early. – Marcus Aurelius
Begin – to begin is half the work, let half still remain again begin this, and thou wilt have finished. – Marcus Aurelius
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. – Marcus Aurelius
Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that it is beyond the powers of man but if anything is within the powers and province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also. – Marcus Aurelius
Enduring habits I hate…. Yes, at the very bottom of my soul I feel grateful to all my misery and bouts of sickness and everything about me that is imperfect, because this sort of thing leaves me with a hundred backdoors through which I can escape from enduring habits. – Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, 1882