A Good Life

I have a huge issue with overcomplicating the rules I live by. I look for productivity systems to manage my work or philosophies to explain my feelings. I want a scorecard. I want to know that if I tick the right boxes, whether that’s closing my Apple Watch rings or following a specific routine, I get a reward at the end.

I am not a religious man. I don’t attend church, and I don’t look for divine intervention to solve my problems. However, I do find myself returning to the same ancient texts that religious frameworks often mirror. There are many intelligent people who have outlined the need to live a life according to religious values. Not because there is some magic in them, but because they align with living a ‘good’ life.

One of my favourite quotes on this is attributed to Marcus Aurelius:

Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.

It cuts through the noise. It strips away the need for the supernatural elements. Perhaps the carrot and the stick. Leaving me with the simple, practical task of being a decent person. Treating others well, respecting the world around me, and giving back. You can call this Karma, divine judgement, or just common sense.

I’ve written before about lessons from the gymnasium, where Aurelius teaches us to accept the bumps of life without taking them personally. This follows the same thread. It’s about internalising my locus of control. If I focus on the action itself, living a noble life, the outcome (the afterlife, the legacy, the opinion of others) becomes secondary.

This aligns with the idea of tying your camel. I can have faith, or hope, or optimism, but I still have to do the practical work myself. I have to actually be good, not just perform goodness for an audience.

In my own life, this manifests in simple ways. I know that my enjoyment is always last when it comes to my family, and I am okay with that. It isn’t a sacrifice I make for a reward later; it’s just the code I live by. I realised a while ago that I’m here for others, and there is a quiet satisfaction in just doing the right thing without needing a scoreboard.

When I spend too much time worrying about the metrics. Treating life like social media and looking for the engagement numbers to tell me I did a good job. This quote reminds me that doesn't matter. If there is a god, they’ll know. If there isn’t, the people I loved will remember. It’s the ultimate simplification of ethics.