Good day, Stoics.
What would you stop doing if nobody could know?
There are things we do because they’re worth doing.
And then there are things we do because we want to be seen doing them.
The Stoics were deeply suspicious of reputation for this reason. Reputation lives in other people’s minds, which means it can never fully belong to us.
You can act honestly and still be misunderstood.
You can do good work and receive no recognition.
You can live with integrity and have someone think poorly of you anyway.
So Marcus Aurelius kept reminding himself not to confuse being known as a good person with actually being one.
That gives us a useful test:
Would I still do this if nobody could praise me for it?
Would you still help?
Still keep your word?
Still do the difficult work?
Still make the right choice if it remained completely invisible?
There’s nothing wrong with being appreciated.
The danger is when appreciation becomes the reason.
Character asks, “Is this right?” Reputation asks, “How will this look?”
Pay attention to which question is making your decisions today.
Stay steady.