Marcus Aurelius’ advice: How to get out of bed & go to work in morning
“You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you.”
In his research on the factors that influence our desire to work, psychologist Barry Schwartz concluded that “if we create workplaces that allow individuals to find meaning in their work, we would be designing a human nature that values labour.” but the human spirit is a temperamental creature. As he toiled over the book that would eventually win him the Pulitzer Prize and serve as the foundation for his Nobel Prize two decades later, John Steinbeck moaned in his diary about the creative process, “Given the least excuse, one will not work at all.” Of course, work means something very different to an artist than it does to someone who clocks in and out of a 9 to 5 job.
However, even those who are fortunate enough to be driven by a strong sense of purpose in a line of work that guarantees their livelihood occasionally — or perhaps frequently — experience paralysis at the thought of having to go to work again. So, what should we do on those days when we just don’t have the drive to get out of bed?
Marcus Aurelius, a great Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, provided an enduring response in Meditations. His indispensable proto-blog, nearly two millennia ago, when for the vast majority of people work was not a source of purpose and meaning but rather the means for basic sustenance gained through hard labour. Meditations is full of enduring wisdom on topics like how to begin each day for optimal sanity and the secret to living fully.
Aurelius writes: “At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”
When the mind naturally objects that staying in bed seems cozier, Aurelius responds: So, you’re born with a “nice” feeling? rather than merely experiencing them through action? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants, the spiders, and the bees going about their own jobs, trying to keep the world in order? And you don’t want to fulfil your obligations as a human being? Why don’t you run to fulfil what your nature requires?
He maintains that it is in our nature to live lives of service, to assist others and make a positive impact on the world. Therefore, any opposition to this natural purpose is a denial of who we are and a failure of self-love.
He claims: “Your self-love is insufficient. Or you might adore your nature and everything it requires of you”.
He thinks a crucial quality of those who love what they do: “Many centuries before psychologists described the sense of “flow” in creative labour.”
When they are truly enamored with what they do, they would like to forgo eating and sleeping in order to continue practicing their craft.
Do you value helping others less now? Not worth the trouble?
He returns to it in a subsequent meditation: “When you struggle to get out of bed in the morning, keep in mind that working with others is your defining quality—what makes a person a human being. Even animals are capable of sleeping. And the typical action is the more inborn and fulfilling one; it is also the more natural one”.
Marcus Aurelius’ advice: How to get out of bed & go to work in morning
With Dostoyevsky’s thoughts on poverty, ambition, success, and creative integrity, and Parker Palmer’s advice on how to let your life speak for itself and discover your purpose, complement this section of Meditations. Then go back to Marcus Aurelius’ lessons on honor and humility from his father.
