I’ve made a manifesto that reminds me of how I want to live my life. You might think; don’t you know yourself? No, I don’t have dementia or a personality disorder. I think that you uncover your own personality throughout the years.

With a graphic manifesto, that I initially made for personal use, I summarized what I’ve learned. It reminds me of what I value in life and how I want to live my life. Because when the going gets tough, a lot of values are thrown out of the window. When I experience difficulty, I often go back to my natural response and that is to say, “I don’t give a shit.” But the truth is that I DO give a shit.

A quick look at my manifesto reminds me of the person that I choose to be. People often say, “this is how I am.” I do not agree with that statement. We CHOOSE to behave in a certain way. It’s simple as that. We decide who we want to be, and then we behave according to that role. Additionally, we are all sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and citizens. We should behave according to our role. Epictetus says the following about this:

“Remember that you are somebody’s son. What does this social role mean? It means regarding everything of yours as belonging to your father as well.” 

“Know that you are a brother. This role also calls for deference, respect, and civility.” 

Epictetus describes a citizen as, “a person who never acts in his own interest or thinks of himself alone (..) all its actions and desires aim at nothing except contributing to the common good.”

My manifesto says who I am and what my beliefs are. I’ve made it with Canva.com (I’m not affiliated). I highly encourage you to create a manifesto, if you haven’t already. Especially a graphic one that you can put on your desk or workspace. Sometimes when we act out, we just need a little reminder of what we want to be.

Here’s my manifesto