Dear Chums,
Over the next few months I will be sending out a weekly Stoic quote that helped me lose 100+ lbs. I passionately believe that the internal work Stoicism allowed me to do is something that is INCREDIBLY powerful for anyone looking to make meaningful change in their lives… Without further ado, please enjoy this weeks quote :)
"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts." - Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations" Book 5, passage 16
This quote was absolutely pivotal to my Stoic Weight Loss Journey and led me to losing 100+ lbs. In 2017 I was deeply unhappy and regularly found myself ruminating and overthinking.
In today's society, there are a few different ways that people tackle the overthinking that many of us face. Sometimes this happens through vices that distract us through providing a temporary escape from the difficulties we face. For many in Britain this escape may be provided through alcohol. Having come from an Islamic background this is not a vice I myself had as an option growing up. As a result the vice that I turned to when faced with difficulties was emotional eating. Similarly to other vices, this overeating provided a welcome distraction from the stresses and rumination my brain would constantly crave.
The issue with the distraction approach is that whilst it may provide short term relief, we need to address the cause of the overthinking at its root. Marcus Aurelius' quote is asking us to reflect on the fact that our mind or 'soul' becomes coloured by the thoughts we let into it. Thoughts, conversely, are generated often by our the thoughts and actions of those around us. In the internet age this includes the content we choose to consume. I realised that the attention diet of Netflix, combined with the nutritional diet of emotional eating, whilst providing the short term distraction my brain craved, was not serving my long term goals or my health.
This Stoic quote provided the bedrock upon which I was able to transform both my attention and nutritional diet. The first is arguably more important, but you will be hard pressed to find advice on this in the fitness industry, which in my experience focuses on secondary rather than primary causes.
This is where Stoicism, in my view, is superior to the current methods for weight loss on the market. If you are looking to lose 100+lbs and are interested in learning this method then head over to StoicWeightLoss.com and book a free 15-minute call.
Hope you have a Wonderful Week and I’ll see you next week for some more Weekly Wisdom!
All the best,
Sam