Marcus Aurelius ran the Roman Empire. His Meditations are, in a sense, the journal of a leader managing impossible responsibilities during crisis. Epictetus taught students who would go on to hold public office. Their writings are full of practical wisdom about duty, discipline, dealing with difficult colleagues, and finding meaning in daily work — not by seeking praise, but by doing the work itself well.
What the Stoics Said
All of us are working on the same project. Some consciously, with understanding; some without knowing it. (I think this is what Heraclitus meant when he said that “those who sleep are also hard at work”—that they too collaborate in what happens.) Some of us work in one way, and some in others. And those who complain and try to obstruct and thwart things—they help as much as anyone. The world needs them as well.
So make up your mind who you’ll choose to work with. The force that directs all things will make good use of you regardless—will put you on its payroll and set you to work. But make sure it’s not the job Chrysippus speaks of: the bad line in the play, put there for laughs.
Meditations 6.42
Love the discipline you know, and let it support you. Entrust everything willingly to the gods, and then make your way through life—no one’s master and no one’s slave.
Meditations 4.31
When you wake up, ask yourself:
Does it make any difference to you if other people blame you for doing what’s right?
It makes no difference.
Have you forgotten what the people who are so vociferous in praise or blame of others are like as they sleep and eat?
Forgotten their behavior, their fears, their desires, their thefts and depredations—not physical ones, but those committed by what should be highest in them? What creates, when it chooses, loyalty, humility, truth, order, well-being.
Meditations 10.13
Study this – these principles, these arguments – and contemplate these models of behaviour, if you want to be free, and your desire corresponds to the goal’s importance. [171] Don’t be surprised if so great a goal costs you many a sacrifice. For love of what they considered freedom men have hanged themselves, have thrown themselves over cliffs – and whole cities have occasionally been destroyed. [172] For true, inviolable, unassailable freedom, yield to God when he asks for something back that he earlier gave you. Prepare yourself, as Plato says, not just for death, but for torture, exile, flogging – and the loss of everything not belonging to you. [173] You will be a slave among slaves otherwise; even if you are a consul ten thousand times over, even if you make your residence on the Palatine, you will be a slave none the less.
And you’ll realize, as Cleanthes used to say, that what philosophers say may be contrary to expectation, but not to reason. [174] For you will learn by experience that it’s true: the things that men admire and work so hard to get prove useless to them once they’re theirs. Meanwhile people to whom such things are still denied come to imagine that everything good will be theirs if only they could acquire them. Then they get them: and their longing is unchanged, their anxiety is unchanged, their disgust is no less, and they still long for whatever is lacking. [175] Freedom is not achieved by satisfying desire, but by eliminating it. [176] Assure yourself of this by expending as much effort on these new ambitions as you did on those illusive goals: work day and night to attain a liberated frame of mind. [177] Instead of a rich old man, cultivate the company of a philosopher, be seen hanging around his door for a change. There’s no shame in the association, and you won’t go away unedified or empty-handed, provided you go with the right attitude. Try at least; there is no shame in making an honest effort.
Discourses 4.1.170
Reflect on what every project entails in both its initial and subsequent stages before taking it up. Otherwise you will likely tackle it enthusiastically at first, since you haven’t given thought to what comes next; but when things get difficult you’ll wind up quitting the project in disgrace. [2] You want to win at the Olympics? So do I – who doesn’t? It’s a glorious achievement; but reflect on what’s entailed both now and later on before committing to it. You have to submit to discipline, maintain a strict diet, abstain from rich foods, exercise under compulsion at set times in weather hot and cold, refrain from drinking water or wine whenever you want – in short, you have to hand yourself over to your trainer as if he were your doctor. And then there are digging contests to endure, and times when you will dislocate your wrist, turn your ankle, swallow quantities of sand, be whipped – and end up losing all the same.
Enchiridion 29.1
The trouble is, we don’t exercise these virtues because we don’t appreciate them. Show me one person who cares how they act, someone for whom success is less important than the manner in which it is achieved. While out walking, who gives any thought to the act of walking itself? Who pays attention to the process of planning, not just the outcome? [16] If the plan works, of course, a person is overjoyed and says, ‘How well we planned it! Didn’t I tell you, with brains like ours it couldn’t possibly fail?’ But a different result leaves the person devastated, incapable of even finding words to explain what happened.
Discourses 2.16.15
Someone was preferred above you at a formal dinner or awards banquet, and their advice was solicited before yours. If such marks of esteem are good, you should be pleased for the other person; if they are not, don’t chafe because you did not get them. And remember, if you do not engage in the same acts as others with a view to gaining such honours, you cannot expect the same results. [2] A person who will not stoop to flattery does not get to have the flatterer’s advantages. One who dances attendance on a superior is rewarded differently from someone who sits out. Refuse to praise someone and you cannot expect the same compensation as a flatterer. It would be unfair and greedy on your part, then, to decline to pay the price that these privileges entail and hope to get them free.
Enchiridion 25.1
Duties are broadly defined by social roles. This man is your father: the relationship demands from you support, constant deference and tolerance for his verbal, even his physical, abuse.
‘But he’s a bad father.’
Look, nature has endeared you to a father, not necessarily a good one.
‘My brother is unfair to me.’
Well then, keep up your side of the relationship; don’t concern yourself with his behaviour, only with what you must do to keep your will in tune with nature. Another person will not hurt you without your cooperation; you are hurt the moment you believe yourself to be.
The titles of neighbour, citizen and general will likewise suggest to you what functions they entail, once you begin to give social relationships their due in your daily deliberations.
Enchiridion 30.1
Frequently Asked Questions
How to be Stoic in the workplace?
Start with the dichotomy of control applied to work: you control the quality of your effort, your attitude, and how you treat colleagues. You do not control outcomes, promotions, or other people’s opinions of you. Marcus Aurelius managed the Roman Empire using this exact framework — focusing on doing his duty well without being attached to recognition. Epictetus teaches that your job is to perform your role excellently, not to worry about how it is received. In practice, this means showing up with full effort, staying calm under pressure, and not letting office politics distract you from the work itself.
What did Marcus Aurelius say about work?
Marcus Aurelius writes extensively about duty and effort in the Meditations. He reminds himself not to be reluctant in doing what his role requires — even when he is tired, even when the work seems thankless. He compares himself to a vine that produces grapes: it does not ask for recognition, it simply does what it was made to do. He also warns against procrastination, telling himself that each day is limited and that putting off meaningful work is a form of disrespecting his own life. His message is clear: do the work, do it now, and let the results take care of themselves.
What are the three Stoic disciplines?
Epictetus organizes Stoic practice into three disciplines: the discipline of desire (learning to want only what is within your control and to accept everything else), the discipline of action (fulfilling your duties to others with justice and care), and the discipline of assent (examining your initial impressions before accepting them as true). At work, these translate directly: desire only to do your best, act with fairness toward colleagues, and question your snap judgments about situations before reacting. Marcus Aurelius practices all three throughout the Meditations without naming them explicitly.
How to build self-discipline the Stoic way?
Marcus Aurelius built discipline through daily practice. Each morning he prepared himself for the day’s difficulties. Each evening he reviewed his actions. He treated discomfort as training rather than punishment. Epictetus taught his students to start with small exercises in self-denial — choosing the harder option when the easier one would have been fine — to build the muscle of self-control. The Stoic approach to discipline is not willpower through gritted teeth; it is habit formation through repeated practice, reinforced by the understanding that discipline is freedom, not restriction.
How to handle disrespect in Stoicism?
Marcus Aurelius’s response to disrespect is consistent throughout the Meditations: consider the source, assume ignorance rather than malice, and remember that your character is not determined by how others treat you. Epictetus is even more direct: if someone insults you, the insult only lands if you accept it. He compares it to someone offering you a gift — you can choose not to take it. In the workplace, this means not retaliating, not gossiping, and not allowing someone else’s poor behavior to degrade your own. Your response to disrespect is entirely within your control; the disrespect itself is not.
How to not let work consume you?
The Stoics valued duty but also perspective. Marcus Aurelius reminds himself repeatedly that all the emperors before him — with all their ambitions and achievements — are now dust. This is not defeatism; it is freedom. When you remember that your career is temporary, you stop sacrificing your health and relationships for outcomes you cannot control. Epictetus teaches that your work is to do your role well, not to identify with it completely. The Stoic works diligently but holds the results lightly, knowing that what matters most is not the output but the character you bring to the effort.