"When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own."
- Marcus Aurelius
Meditations
This remarkable morning reflection demonstrates sophisticated psychological preparation for human interaction. Rather than naive optimism, Marcus practices realistic expectation-setting while maintaining compassion. He acknowledges that people will disappoint him, but frames these disappointments philosophically rather than personally. By reminding himself that wrongdoers share his human nature, he pre-empts anger and judgment, replacing them with understanding. This practice transforms potential frustrations into opportunities for virtue - patience, compassion, and wisdom.
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