No Shame, No Blame Small-minded people habitually reproached others for their own misfortunes. Average people reproach themselves. Those who are dedicated to a life of wisdom understand that the impulse to blame something or someone is foolishness, that there is nothing to be gained in blaming, whether it be others or oneself.

Conduct Yourself with Dignity No matter where you find yourself, comport yourself as if you were distinguished person. While the behavior of many people is dictated by what is going on around them, hold yourself to a higher standard. Take care to avoid parties or games where thoughtless revelry and carousing are the norm. If you find yourself at a public event, remain rooted in your own purposes and ideals.

Avoid Most Popular Entertainment Your life is too short and you have important things to do. Be discriminating about what images and ideas you permit into your mind. If you yourself don’t choose what thoughts and images you expose yourself to, someone else will, and their motives may not be the highest. It is the easiest thing in the world to slide imperceptibly into vulgarity. But there’s no need for that to happen if you determine not to waste your time and attention on mindless pap.

Observe Proper Proportion and Moderation Through vigilance, we can forestall the tendency to excess. Without moral training, we can be induced to excess. In the case of shoes, for instance, many people are tempted to buy fancy, exotic shoes when all is that is needed is comfortable, well-fitting, durable footwear. Once we fall, however slightly, into immoderation, momentum gathers and we can be lost to whim.

Stay the Course, In Good Weather or Bad Regardless of what is going on around you, make the best of what is in your power, and take the rest as it occurs.

The Essence of Faithfulness The essence of faithfulness lies first in holding correct opinions and attitudes regarding the Ultimate. Remember that the divine order is intelligent and fundamentally good. Life is not a series of random, meaningless episodes, but an ordered, elegant whole that follows ultimately comprehensible laws. The divine will exist and directs the universe with justice and goodness. Though it is not always apparent if you merely look at the surface of things, the universe we inhabit is the best possible universe. Fix your resolve on expecting justice and goodness and order, and they will increasingly reveal

The Real Purpose of Philosophy True philosophy doesn’t involve exotic rituals, mysterious liturgy, or quaint beliefs. Nor is it just abstract theorizing and analysis. It is, of course, the love of wisdom. Philosophy is intended for everyone, and it is authentically practiced only by those who wed it with action in the world toward a better life for all. Philosophy’s purpose is to illuminate the ways our soul has been infected by unsound beliefs, untrained tumultuous desires, and dubious life choices are preferences that are unworthy of us. Self-security applied with kindness is the main antidote. Besides ro

Consider What Comes First, Then What Follows, and Then Act Cultivate the habit of surveying and testing a prospective action before undertaking it. Before you proceed, step back and look at the big picture, lest you act rashly on raw impulse. Determine what happens first, consider what that leads to, and then act in accordance with what you’ve learned. Just as certain capacities are required for success in a particular area, so too are certain sacrifices required. If you wish to become proficient in the art of living with wisdom, do you think that you can eat and drink to excess? Do you think you can conti

See Things for What They Are Circumstances do not rise to meet our expectations. Events happen as they do. People behave as they are. Embrace what you actually get. When something happens, the only thing in your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it. What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance. Stop scaring yourself with impetuous notions, with your reactive impressions if the way things are! Things are not what we wish them to be n

The Pursuit of Wisdom Attracts Critics Those who pursue the higher life of wisdom, who seek to live by spiritual principles, must be prepared to be laughed at and condemned. Many people who have progressively lowered their personal standards in an attempt to win social acceptance and life’s comforts bitterly resent those of philosophical bent who refuse to compromise their spiritual ideals and who seek to better themselves. Never live your life in reaction to these diminished souls. Be compassionate towards them, and at the same time hold to what you know is good. When you begin your program of spiritual progress, ch