Epictetus Enchiridion
Epictetus: Some things are in our control and others…
Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of the Enchiridion. The reading beside it is ours.
The dividing line in life is not between easy days and hard days. It is between what belongs to you and what does not. Your effort, attention, judgment, and choices belong to you. The weather, the market, your boss's mood, your health, and other people's opinions do not. That can feel limiting until you notice how much energy is wasted trying to manage the second list. You cannot force a client to say yes, but you can prepare well and make an honest proposal. You cannot control whether a post gets attention, but you can control whether it is thoughtful. Start the day by sorting your worries into these two columns. Then put your effort where it can actually do some good: in the quality of your own response.
Related passages
- Epictetus Consider what you are: before all else, a human being whose greatest power is reasoned choice, governing all else and…
- Epictetus Events make us fearful when we judge that others control them. A stronghold falls not chiefly to fire or steel, but to…
- Epictetus Guard your impressions constantly. What you defend is no minor possession: your dignity, reliability, steadiness,…