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Marcus Aurelius began his mornings by reminding himself he would meet ungrateful, arrogant and deceitful people that day, and these 8 habits show how people with real class stay gracious when someone is rude to them

Marcus Aurelius prepared each morning for rude and difficult people. Eight habits from his Meditations for staying gracious when someone is rude to you, without becoming a pushover.

By Lachlan Brown · November 7, 2026

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Marcus Aurelius began his mornings by reminding himself he would meet ungrateful, arrogant and deceitful people that day, and these 8 habits show how people with real class stay gracious when someone is rude to them

Explore the library

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Philosophers A–Z

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From the magazine

The Japanese idea of wabi-sabi finds beauty in things that are worn, cracked and unfinished, and these 8 habits show how people who age well apply it to themselves

Psychology says people who wave to say thank you when another driver lets them in aren’t just being polite. They’re holding onto a habit of noticing small kindnesses, and that habit quietly shapes how grateful they feel about everything else

In 1859, Abraham Lincoln told a crowd of Wisconsin farmers about an Eastern king who asked his wise men for one sentence that would always be true. They gave him: "And this, too, shall pass away."

Thought of the day from Stoic philosopher Seneca: “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it”

New to philosophy? Start here.