Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher wrote in MEDITATIONS:
"At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?"
"So you were born to feel 'nice'? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?"
"You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you."
"When they’re really possessed by what they do, they’d rather stop eating and sleeping than give up practicing their arts."
"Is helping others less valuable to you? Not worth your effort?"
"When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your defining characteristic— what defines a human being — is to work with others. Even animals know how to sleep. And it’s the characteristic activity that’s the more natural one — more innate and more satisfying."
