Notes on the Virtuous Life
life that is worth living
The virtuous life is hard.
It requires resilience, patience and self-control.
What is a virtuous life?
It is the life where you give up hedonism, where you stop sabotaging yourself and stop being decadent. It is a life where you seek tranquility, equanimity and morality. My definition of the "virtuous life" is inspired by Stoicism, minimalism and focuses on self-improvement.
What are the characteristics of a person who leads such a life?
That person takes care of others, is humble and does his duties. S/he always tries to become a better version of themselves.
S/he always reflects on their actions, examines their life and tries to understand what is wrong and what is right, and do things that matter.
Why live a virtuous life?
Because it allows you to gain control of your life again, remove anything unnecessary, and seek long-term joy and stability. This is the path to reach Eudaimonia.
Why do I want to live such a life?
- Because this life attracts me.
- Because I want to be in control of my own life.
- I want to experience struggle, which in turn will give meaning to me.
- I care about being a better human.
- It takes patience, mental and physical strength to overcome problems in life, and I want to build that resilience, so that I may never have to rely on other, and instead focus on being more helpful.
- I want to be more honest, more straightforward.
- I want to prioritise what is important: the good things.
- I want to remove any base desires like porn, indulgence to entertainment, online shopping (on bulk) and excessive workaholism.
- I want to replace them with tasks that matter, like connecting with people, reading, learning, social activities, chores, studying.
- Living this life means being more rational
- I want to purge anything extra, anything that doesn't reinforce my identity (scholar, builder, self-improvement fanatic.)
- because this life is beyond happiness.
How can you live a virtuous life?
- By doing what matters.
- Being responsible for everything.
- Keeping a healthy body and a healthy mind.
- Prioritising things that are absolutely important and taking the path of least effort for others.
- Moderation, and delaying gratification.
- Focusing on: updating beliefs, improving systems and spiritual values.
- Examining life.
Thank you Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, James Scholz, my friends, and all the people I have learned from.
Continue Reading
Previous: Dostoevsky and Love