Six Mistakes of Man

…knowing of these mistakes…has been a material contributor to my happiness…

The problems plaguing ancient people apparently aren’t all that different from those we still face. More than 2000 years ago the Roman orator Cicero (106 BCE to 43 BCE) listed the following six mistakes of man:

1. The delusion that individual advancement is made by crushing others
2. The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed
3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it
4. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences
5. Neglecting development and refinement of mind and not acquiring the habit of reading and study
6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do

I have carried this list in one form or another for neigh on twenty years. I occasionally read over this list, but this is hardly necessary anymore. They have become part of my own credo.It occurred to me this evening that knowing of these mistakes so that I can work to avoid them has been a material contributor to my happiness and so they must be taught to my children. Just as I have reflected on them when I see the results of one of the mistakes playing itself out in the world (in order to cement it in my mind), I will use our modern-day opportunities to teach these lessons to my children.