There are two words that come to us from the ancients that I think we should remind ourselves of, repeat to ourselves, in any and every situation we’re in.

Memento mori.

Which means, ‘remember you will die’.

Whether you go through shit, you are in troubled times, someone cheats on you, someone betrays you, someone lies to you, someone gets what you earned, someone gets promoted over you.

Say to yourself, memento mori - remember you will die.

Maybe someone says something mean to you, you’re stressed out by work, your kids are sick.

Life is short, I am going to die.

And what that means is you can’t take any of this seriously. You can’t let it weigh on you. You can’t hold onto it. You can’t let it get you angry.

Memento mori.

You can’t take any of this with you.

It pales in comparision ot the idea of eternity.

How many people have come before you and had these same honours, where are they now? They’re dead - just like you will be.

It’s a reminder that helps you accept the good things without arrogance, and to let the bad things go with indifference.

Your plane is delayed, you’re stressed, you’re tired, you’re hungry, you’re cynical… memento mori.

What does any of this mean? Why am I taking any of it so seriously? Why am I letting it get to me? What’s three hours here or three hours there. Remember you are going to die.

What you do control is whether you waste time getting upset by this. Whether you waste time taking it personally. Whether you’re the best in the world at what you do, or an unpaid intern.

Is this how you want to spend your time. Are you wasting it? Or are you living it? Are you embracing it? Or are you letting it escape from your grasp?

Memento mori - this too shall pass.