Nobody wants to be criticized. It doesn’t feel good when people judge what you’ve done. We want the right ​people to like us​, we want all people to like us. We want to be accepted, appreciated, celebrated. So we try to be like other people, like the people that everyone likes.

But in the end, does this effort pay off? No, it doesn’t. You work hard to preempt criticism, to appeal to the trends, to make people like you and then what happens? They still criticize you. Somebody finds something to find fault with you about. Think of how Marcus Aurelius was savaged by critics in his own time, just as he is today by many academic and philosophers, written off by many historians.

Imagine if he had tried instead to conform to their expectations, to fit more clearly in the box they wanted him to be. Imagine if he’d tried to win the mob’s favor or the respect of future generations by conquest or dazzling deed. Imagine if he had written ​Meditations​ for an audience instead of from a far more personal and vulnerable place.

It doesn’t matter what you do, the ​criticism is always going to be there​. So you might as well do what you think ought to be done. You might as well do what seems meaningful and important and fulfilling and right to you. People are going to say what they’re going to say, haters will find a way to hate. In the meantime, just ​be true to yourself​, be true to the mission you have, fight for the respect (and praise) of yourself, not the mob, not the future.

That’s hard enough to win anyway.

Looking to simplify your routines? Trying to prioritize your health and wellness in 2024? Enter ​ButcherBox​, a meat subscription company that is focused on helping you do just that! Get your favorite proteins shipped right to your door with free shipping and take the guess work out of your meal planning. As an added bonus, new users can select their choice of either organic chicken thighs, grass-fed ground beef, or grass-fed steak tips to have in every box for a year and use code ​STOIC20​ at checkout to get an additional ​$20 off your first box​!