"Say to yourself at the start of the day: Today I will meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, aggressive, treacherous, malicious, and unsocial."

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln appointed Edwin Stanton as his Secretary of War. Stanton was a brilliant lawyer but a man of notoriously difficult temperament. Before the appointment, Stanton had publicly humiliated Lincoln, calling him a "long-armed ape" and mocking his administration. He was aggressive, arrogant, and often insubordinate. Lincoln’s advisors were shocked by the choice. They expected Lincoln to surround himself with friends who would flatter him. Lincoln refused. He knew the Civil War required a ruthless administrator, and Stanton was the best man for the job.

Lincoln did not walk into the War Department expecting Stanton to be polite. He did not expect gratitude. He expected Stanton to be Stanton—gruff, rude, and efficient. Because Lincoln had mentally prepared for Stanton’s nature, the insults did not land. When told that Stanton had called him a fool, Lincoln calmly replied, "If Stanton said I was a fool, then I must be one, for he is nearly always right and generally says what he means." Lincoln’s preparation allowed him to utilize Stanton’s genius while ignoring Stanton’s malice. They eventually won the war together.

Most people begin their day with a fragile optimism. They hope everyone will be nice. They hope traffic will be clear. They hope the client will be reasonable. This is a strategy for disaster. When the inevitable rude person appears, the person is shocked and hurt. They cry out, "Why is he acting this way?" Marcus Aurelius teaches the student to invert this. Do not hope for good behavior; anticipate bad behavior. Put on your armor before you leave the house. When you expect the boor, the boor cannot surprise you. If you meet a kind person instead, it is a pleasant bonus.

Errors & Corrections

• Don't start the day hoping for smooth sailing. Start the day by visualizing the specific challenges and difficult people you will face.
• Don't react to rudeness with shock or indignation. React with the calm recognition of a botanist finding a thorn on a rosebush.
• Don't wish for people to be different than they are. Accept their nature and determine how you will work with it.

Applications to Modern Life

Workplace:

The office is full of "meddling" colleagues. Before a meeting with a known micromanager, you should tell yourself: "He will try to control the details today. That is his nature." When he interrupts, you are not angry; you are validated. You can say internally, "Ah, there it is, right on schedule." This allows you to navigate the meeting with strategy rather than emotion.

Social Media:

The internet is the capital city of the "aggressive and malicious." Opening an app is entering a public square filled with shouting. You should pause before logging on and think: "I am about to see ignorance, outrage, and performative cruelty." This prevents the "doom-scroll" of anxiety. You observe the chaos without becoming part of it.

Politics:

Political discourse often feels "treacherous." Allies switch sides; opponents lie. If you expect politicians to be paragons of virtue, you will be perpetually heartbroken. If you expect them to act according to incentives and power dynamics, you can analyze the situation coldly. You can vote and advocate effectively without the blinding heat of betrayal.

Maxims

• Forewarned is forearmed.
• Anger is often just a surprise at reality; remove the surprise, remove the anger.

In-depth Concepts

Praemeditatio Malorum (Premeditation of Evils)

This is the practice of imagining potential bad outcomes in advance. It is not pessimism; it is rehearsal. By visualizing the rude person, the traffic jam, or the insult, we dull the sting of the event. We rob the future of its power to hurt us by having already lived through it in our minds.

Amathia (Moral Ignorance)

In the same passage, Marcus notes that these people act this way because "they do not know the difference between good and evil." The Stoics call this Amathia. It is a lack of wisdom. We should view the aggressive person not as a monster, but as someone suffering from a disease of the soul. We pity the sick; we do not hate them.

The Ruling Faculty (Hegemonikon)

The core self that decides how to react. The "ungrateful" person attacks your reputation (an external), but they cannot touch your Ruling Faculty unless you open the door and let the offense in. Preparation locks the door.