4 Practical Philosophies That Will Empower You

• Friedrich Nietzsche – Eternal Recurrence

Heaven or hell, you decide

Let’s also assume that the life you are currently living is not simply one of the repetitions but is actually your first time around. This means that every moment that passes will be set in stone and repeat itself eternally. How does that sound to you? If you are a ‘common man’, Nietzsche predicted that this would be the heaviest possible burden. On the other hand, be believed human greatness is achieved when you don’t want anything to be different, past, present or future. When you accept and love the present moment, you have won. Practically speaking, Nietzsche is then suggesting that you choose the best action at every moment and always ask yourself whether what you are doing right now really is the best you could be doing. If you follow his advice and always act according to this knowledge, I’ll bet that you will have a life worth reliving.

• Socrates – No One Does Wrong Willingly

Since we are rational, no one would consciously choose pain over pleasure, which means that people only do wrong because they don’t know any better.

• Jean-Paul Sartre – You Are Doomed to Be Free

He starts with the assumption that there is no God and then draws conclusions about what it means to be human. One of his conclusions is that we are doomed to be free. Let me explain: Since there is no God, we are born without an essence. We have no divine purpose or predetermined path. This means that we are absolutely free to do what we choose and build our essence through our actions. Sartre goes as far as to say that we can’t not be free, since we are only able to limit our freedom because we are free and can thus never rid ourselves of our freedom. And with the freedom comes responsibility: because we are free, we can only blame ourselves for our results since we are the cause of our actions. Thus, everyone is responsible for their own life.

• Dan Millman’s Socrates – Moderation No More

There is a saying when you sit, sit. When you stand, stand. What ever you do don’t wobble. Once you make your choice do it with all your spirit. Don’t be like the evangelist that thought about praying while making love to his wife and making love to his wife while praying. It’s better to make a mistake with the full force of your being than to carefully avoid mistakes with a trembling spirit. Responsibility means recognizing both pleasure and price, making a choice based on that recognition, and then living with that choice without concern