Book · 180
Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
A Roman emperor writes himself private notes on how to stop losing his temper, never expecting anyone else to read them, and two thousand years later everyone has.
What does Reddit think of Meditations?
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations has more tracked mentions than almost anything else in this catalogue, and it's not one crowd saying the same thing. r/Stoicism treats it as a practice notebook, not a journal; a ↑408 comment argues the whole book is Marcus addressing his own recurring failures, mostly anger and getting annoyed at people, over and over. r/selfimprovement reads it as something closer to a personal reset, and one ↑575 comment says an outlook improved "infinitely" after finishing it. r/philosophy runs the genealogy instead, tracing Beck, Ellis, and Hayes's CBT back to the Stoics by name (↑344), and separately quotes Book 12 on caring more about others' opinions than your own (↑836). The funniest thread in the sample is the shortest: a commenter notes the irony that Marcus wrote convinced he'd be forgotten, and here we are, centuries later, still reading him (↑485). Nine subreddits, one book, several different reasons to open it.
Evidence, not a rating
Recommendation receipt
A compact, source-linked answer derived from the same Reddit sample and editorial synthesis as this page.
Editorial summary
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations has more tracked mentions than almost anything else in this catalogue, and it's not one crowd saying the same thing. r/Stoicism treats it as a practice notebook, not a journal; a ↑408 comment argues the whole book is Marcus addressing his own recurring failures, mostly anger and getting annoyed at people, over and over.
Read if
Open it expecting a private notebook, not an argument aimed at you, and the ↑408 read holds up: page after page is Marcus catching himself being angry again and writing his way back to calm. If therapy-adjacent self-help is more your speed than ancient philosophy, r/selfimprovement's evidence says that's a fine way in too. Skeptical that a Roman emperor's diary has anything to do with modern psychology?
Skip or borrow first if
The most-upvoted r/Stoicism threads spend more time explaining what genre the book is, a practice notebook rather than a treatise, than defending anything it argues.
Strongest published evidence
“In Book 12 of Meditations, Marcus Aurelius states, "It never ceases to amaze me: We all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own."”r/philosophy source · score 836 ↗
Dissent & strongest caveat
The most-upvoted r/Stoicism threads spend more time explaining what genre the book is, a practice notebook rather than a treatise, than defending anything it argues.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · A private notebook of self-corrections, not a treatise written for readers
- · Anger and self-forgiveness as the subject Marcus keeps returning to
- · A straight line drawn from Stoicism to modern CBT
- · The gap between Marcus expecting to be forgotten and the record two thousand years later
Common praise
- + r/Stoicism reads the whole book as one man cataloguing his own recurring failures, mainly anger, rather than a lecture aimed at anyone else.
- + One r/selfimprovement commenter says their outlook changed "infinitely" after finishing it, no hedging.
- + r/philosophy traces a direct line from the Stoics to Beck, Ellis, and Hayes's cognitive-behavioral therapy, naming all three.
Common criticism
- − The most-upvoted r/Stoicism threads spend more time explaining what genre the book is, a practice notebook rather than a treatise, than defending anything it argues.
Who it's for
Open it expecting a private notebook, not an argument aimed at you, and the ↑408 read holds up: page after page is Marcus catching himself being angry again and writing his way back to calm. If therapy-adjacent self-help is more your speed than ancient philosophy, r/selfimprovement's evidence says that's a fine way in too. Skeptical that a Roman emperor's diary has anything to do with modern psychology? r/philosophy's CBT lineage argument is aimed at exactly that reader. It won't read like a book that expects an audience, because it wasn't written for one.
Mentions over time
Which Reddit comments matter for Meditations?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“In Book 12 of Meditations, Marcus Aurelius states, "It never ceases to amaze me: We all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own."
“Totally cool if you don't agree with me, but I think you are projecting something onto me that is actually rooted in Seneca's tendency to talk in somewhat overlapping or even contradictory terms. In Letter 33, he does talk about the futility of maxims but in Letters 94 and 95, he talks of the import…
“Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. You'll walk away with an idea of what the point of life is, and it will inspire you to reach your potential. My outlook on life has improved infinitely since reading it.
“I find it funny reading “meditations” because Marcus Aurelius always speaks about how no one will remember him and he will be forgotten. But here I am a few 100 years later, reading about him
“For starters let your ex go. Having been in his position, you begging for him back is only hurting him more and if you actually loved him you would respect his decision and allow him and you to move on while you deal with your issues. Second, love requires sacrifice. If you are unwilling to sacrifi…
“Yes, and many of the 50s psychologist (Erin Beck is CBT) were classic trained and well aware of Aurelius. Beck has specifically noted the stoics as influential in his work, as has Albert Ellis and Steven Hayes (all big names in psychology). This is why I don't understand the hate modern pseudo philo…
“I read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and it changed the way I look at the world. I always thought sentences like that sounded so cheesy and self righteous, but holy crap, it literally happened. I recommend that book, and thus the stoic philosophy, to so many people now.
““Objective judgment, now, at this very moment. Unselfish action, now, at this very moment. Willing acceptance—now, at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you need.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations IX.6.
“Start with Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
“>This is why I don't understand the hate modern pseudo philosophers have for The Meditations. If you actually read it I don't understand how you could hate it. There is good practical advice in his writings. More importantly, he didn't write it for public consumption. He was trying to work out … wor…
“As Marcus Aurelius states in Meditations, “if any man despises me, that’s their problem.” You were kind to them because it was the right thing to do. How they behave, and how they view you, is not within your control. If you did everything you could to be a virtuous person, then there is no regret …
“I'm pretty sure the real Seneca never said that it's easy to spot yellow cars, however, this reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Marcus Aurelius' Meditations (5.16): "Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for **the soul is dyed by the thoughts**. D…
“One of my favorite passages from Meditations covers this exact problem: >“When your sparring partner scratches or head-butts you, you don’t then make a show of it, or protest, or view him with suspicion or as plotting against you. And yet you keep an eye on him, not as an enemy or with suspicion, b…
“Philosophy Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Single handedly the best book I ever read that formed my perspective on life
“Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I read this book when my life was falling apart. It changed the way how I saw everything about my life. Another great book is Man's search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. These two books can change your life for the better.
Convinced? Pick up Meditations
Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with Meditations — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring Meditations
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
Meditations — frequently asked
What genre is Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, according to r/Stoicism?+
Not a journal, per the top-upvoted framing (↑408): a practice notebook, where Marcus Aurelius keeps addressing his own failures, mostly anger and irritation at other people, rather than writing for a reader. That reframes the whole book as self-correction in progress, not a finished argument.
Did reading Meditations actually change anyone's life on Reddit?+
At least one person says so in strong terms. An r/selfimprovement commenter (↑575) reports their outlook on life improved "infinitely" after reading it and credits it with clarifying what the point of life even is. That's one account's claim, not a subreddit consensus, but it isn't hedged either.
Is Meditations connected to modern therapy like CBT?+
r/philosophy argues yes, directly: a ↑344 comment names Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis, and Steven Hayes as psychologists who studied the Stoics and cites them as influences on cognitive-behavioral therapy. That's a claimed lineage from a philosophy subreddit, not a clinical study, but it's specific rather than vague.
Why does Marcus Aurelius's Meditations keep getting mentioned so often?+
The volume, 1662 tracked mentions across nine subreddits, spans r/Stoicism, r/Meditation, r/selfimprovement, and r/philosophy, each apparently using it differently: a practice notebook, a self-help text, and a piece of intellectual history. One commenter even flags the irony (↑485) that Marcus expected to be forgotten and instead gets read centuries later. High volume here reflects several audiences overlapping, not one verdict repeated.