"Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself."
- Marcus Aurelius
Meditations
This encapsulates a balanced approach to human relationships and personal development. We tend to do the opposite - being lenient with our own faults while harshly judging others. Marcus suggests reversing this pattern. Tolerance with others comes from recognizing that everyone is doing their best with their current level of understanding and circumstances. People make mistakes, act selfishly, or behave poorly often from ignorance, fear, or pain rather than malice. Meanwhile, we should hold ourselves to high standards because we have direct control over our own choices and the most complete knowledge of our own motivations. This approach creates compassion in relationships while maintaining personal accountability for growth.
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