76
Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life
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77
Does it seem to you so small and worthless a thing to be good and happy?
78
Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinions about the things
79
Wretch, you are carrying about a god with you, and you know it not.
80
Do not admire your clothes, and then you will not be angry with the thief.
81
Keep by every means what is your own; do not desire what belongs to others.
82
It is the act of an ill-instructed man to blame others for his own bad condition; it is the act of one who has begun to be instructed, to lay the blame on himself; and of one whose instruction is completed, neither to blame another, nor himself.
Epictetusdisputed·The Encheiridion, in A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus (trans. George Long)·1888
Attribution contested
The fifth maxim is the source of the modern slogan it is not what happens to you but how you react to it, which translates nothing Epictetus wrote and has no attested author. The paraphrase stops halfway. Epictetus opens by saying men are disturbed by their opinions about things rather than by the things, but he ends here -- taking the blame yourself is only the middle stage, and the finished man blames nobody at all.
83
If you have assumed a character beyond your strength, you have both played a poor figure in that, and neglected one that is within your powers.
84
I am by Nature made for my own good; not for my own evil.
85
To admit failure at this stage was hard, but the facts had to be faced.
86
To state the problem is to recall the truth that no single principle can answer all of life's complexities.
87
Apprehension, uncertainty, waiting, expectation, fear of surprise, do a patient more harm than any exertion.
88
The robbers of time are the past and the future.
89
Life is a mirror, and we find only ourselves reflected in our associates.
90
Man can only receive what he sees himself receiving.
91
If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for.
92
Every thought, every word is impressed upon it and carried out in amazing detail.
93
The object of the game of life is to see clearly one’s good and to obliterate all mental pictures of evil.
94
Fear is only inverted faith; it is faith in evil instead of good.
95
Nothing stands between man and his highest ideals and every desire of his heart, but doubt and fear.
96
Whatever man feels deeply or images clearly, is impressed upon the subconscious mind, and carried out in minutest detail.
97
Most people consider life a battle, but it is not a battle, it is a game.
98
Man should make an art of thinking.
99
One should always follow a denial with an affirmation.
100
The student’s goal is Poise! Poise is Power.