The Stoics were demanding, but Marcus also wrote about not being harsh, about meeting your own faults the way you'd meet a friend's, with correction and care rather than contempt. Beating yourself up isn't discipline; it's just another way of losing your peace. You can hold high standards and still speak to yourself kindly. In fact, the kindness usually helps you do better, because shame makes us hide and quit, while gentleness lets us look honestly and try again. You wouldn't talk to someone you love the way you talk to yourself on a bad day. Today, when you catch yourself in harsh self-talk, switch to the words you'd give a good friend in the same spot.

Inspired by the old idea of character over reputation. Written by Ugo Charles.