Alexander wept when he heard Anaxarchus discourse about an infinite number of worlds, and when his friends inquired what ailed him, “Is it not worthy of tears,” he said, “that, when the number of worlds is infinite, we have not yet become lords of a single one?
– Plutarch, Moralia
Have you ever felt a sense of anti-climax after achieving a worthy or noble goal such as a certificate, an examination, a qualification, winning a trophy or even an Olympic gold medal, if you have been lucky enough to win one?
Many people feel a sense of anti-climax after achieving one of their goals and the ancient story of alexander may serve to remind you that the real goal is an inner goal.
It is said that Alexander, the famous military philosopher and a warrior, when he conquered all the nations that he wanted to conquer, that “Alexander wept, because he had no more worlds to conquer.”
Now this is a very deep philosophy according to scholars because it shows the anti-climax of conquering worlds and winning treasures.
Alexander had all the treasures in the world and he still wept because there were no more goals to achieve, there were no more accomplishments.
So in daily life now these days think about your inner world. If you achieve something on the external world the trophy the inner world has still not been conquered.
True victory is victory over ourselves as Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, has said.
And in the same way, this true victory is what Alexander needed to find, and he would not have wept if he could have kept conquering his inner demons.
So what about you? Today, think about all your achievements, your successes, your certificates, and keep an inner sense of achieving daily.
Win daily by appreciating by achieving very small goals during the day, and also keeping various long-term and short-term goals forever.
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Never stop striving while at the same time appreciating all you have achieved.
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