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Nothing Truly Stops You. Nothing Truly Holds You Back. For Your Own Will Is Always Within Your Control. Sickness May Challenge Your Body. But Are You Merely Your Body? Lameness May Impede Your Legs. But You Are Not Merely Your Legs. Your Will Is Bigger Than Your Legs. Your Will Needn't Be Affected By An Incident Unless You Let It.

-Epictetus

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Nothing Truly Stops You.

Epictetus

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Nothing Truly Stops You. Nothing Truly Holds You Back. For Your Own Will Is Always Within Your Control. Sickness May Challenge Your Body. But Are You Merely Your Body? Lameness May Impede Your Legs. But You Are Not Merely Your Legs. Your Will Is Bigger Than Your Legs. Your Will Needn't Be Affected By An Incident Unless You Let It.

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When Something Happens, The Only Thing In Your Power Is Your Attitude Toward It. It Is Not The Things That Disturb Us, But Our Interpretation Of Their Significance. Things And People Are Not What We Wish Them To Be Nor Are They What They Seem To Be. They Are What They Are.

Remember That You Are An Actor In A Play, And That The Playwright Chooses The Manner Of It: If He Wants You To Act A Poor Man You Must Act The Part With All Your Powers; And So If Your Part Be A Cripple Or A Magistrate Or A Plain Man. For Your Business Is To Act The Character That Is Given You And Act It Well. The Choice Of The Cast Is Another's.

Exceed Due Measure, And The Most Delightful Things Become The Least Delightful.

Delightful Things

It's So Simple Really: If You Say You're Going To Do Something, Do It. If You Start Something, Finish It.

Imagine For Yourself A Character, A Model Personality, Whose Example You Determine To Follow, In Private As Well As In Public.

Follow Your Heart

As A Man, Casting Off Worn Out Garments Taketh New Ones, So The Dweller In The Body, Entereth Into Ones That Are New.

He Is Free Who Lives As He Wishes To Live; Who Is Neither Subject To Compulsion Nor To Hindrance, Nor To Force; Whose Movements To Action Are Not Impeded, Whose Desires Attain Their Purpose, And Who Does Not Fall Into That Which He Would Avoid.

Only The Educated Are Free.

In Every Affair Consider What Precedes And What Follows, And Then Undertake It

Were I A Nightingale, I Would Act The Part Of A Nightingale; Were I A Swan, The Part Of A Swan.

Opportunity Beckons More Surely When Misfortune Comes Upon A Person Than It Ever Does When That Person Is Riding The Crest Of A Wave Of Success. It Sharpens A Person's Wits, If That Person Will Let It, Enabling Him Or Her To See More Clearly And Evaluate Situations With A More Knowledgeable Judgment.

When A Man Is Proud Because He Can Understand And Explain The Writings Of Chrysippus, Say To Yourself, 'if Chrysippus Had Not Written Obscurely, This Man Would Have Had Nothing To Be Proud Of.'

Suffering Arises From Trying To Control What Is Uncontrollable, Or From Neglecting What Is Within Our Power.

He Is A Wise Man Who Does Not Grieve For The Things Which He Has Not, But Rejoices For Those Which He Has.

You May Be Always Victorious If You Will Never Enter Into Any Contest Where The Issue Does Not Wholly Depend Upon Yourself.

Practice Yourself, For Heaven's Sake, In Little Things, And Thence Proceed To Greater.

Nothing Great Is Created Suddenly, Any More Than A Bunch Of Grapes Or A Fig.

Greek Philosopher

Nothing Great Comes Into Being All At Once.

These Are The Signs Of A Wise Man: To Reprove Nobody, To Praise Nobody, To Blame Nobody, Nor Even To Speak Of Himself Or His Own Merits.

It Is Your Own Convictions Which Compels You; That Is, Choice Compels Choice.

It Is Better To Die Of Hunger Having Lived Without Grief And Fear, Than To Live With A Troubled Spirit, Amid Abundance

Men Are Not Worried By Things, But By Their Ideas About Things. When We Meet With Difficulties, Become Anxious Or Troubled, Let Us Not Blame Others, But Rather Ourselves. That Is: Our Ideas About Things.

A Vulgar Man, In Any Ill That Happens To Him, Blames Others; A Novice In Philosophy Blames Himself; And A Philosopher Blames Neither, The One Nor The Other.

If We Are Not Stupid Or Insincere When We Say That The Good Or Ill Of Man Lies Within His Own Will, And That All Beside Is Nothing To Us, Why Are We Still Troubled?

I Must Die. I Must Be Imprisoned. I Must Suffer Exile. But Must I Die Groaning? Must I Whine As Well? Can Anyone Hinder Me From Going Into Exile With A Smile? The Master Threatens To Chain Me: What Say You? Chain Me? My Leg You Will Chain--yes, But Not My Will--no, Not Even Zeus Can Conquer That.

You Lose Only The Things You Have

What Is Learned Without Pleasure Is Forgotten Without Remorse.

When You Close Your Doors, And Make Darkness Within, Remember Never To Say That You Are Alone, For You Are Not Alone; Nay, God Is Within, And Your Genius Is Within. And What Need Have They Of Light To See What You Are Doing?

Now Is The Time To Get Serious About Living Your Ideals. Once You Have Determined The Spiritual Principles You Wish To Exemplify, Abide By These Rules As If They Were Laws, As If It Were Indeed Sinful To Compromise Them. Don't Mind If Others Don't Share Your Convictions. How Long Can You Afford To Put Off Who You Really Want To Be? Your Nobler Self Cannot Wait Any Longer.

It Is Better By Assenting To Truth To Conquer Opinion, Than By Assenting To Opinion To Be Conquered By Truth.

What Is A Child? Ignorance. What Is A Child? Want Of Instruction.

To A Longer And Worse Life, A Shorter And Better Is By All Means To Be Preferred.

These Reasonings Are Unconnected: "i Am Richer Than You, Therefore I Am Better"; "i Am More Eloquent Than You, Therefore I Am Better." The Connection Is Rather This: "i Am Richer Than You, Therefore My Property Is Greater Than Yours;" "i Am More Eloquent Than You, Therefore My Style Is Better Than Yours." But You, After All, Are Neither Property Nor Style.

We Have Two Ears And One Mouth So That We Can Listen Twice As Much As We Speak.

Desire And Happiness Cannot Live Together.

The Good Or Ill Of A Man Lies Within His Own Will.

If You Wish To Live A Life Free From Sorrow, Think Of What Is Going To Happen As If It Had Already Happened.

Nothing Is In Reality Either Pleasant Or Unpleasant By Nature But All Things Become So Through Habit

The Universe Is But One Great City, Full Of Beloved Ones, Divine And Human, By Nature Endeared To Each Other.

Men Are Not Troubled By Things Themselves, But By Their Thoughts About Them

God Has Entrusted Me With Myself.

Self Improvement

On The Occasion Of Every Accident That Befalls You, Remember To Turn To Yourself And Inquire What Power You Have For Turning It To Use.

We Can't Control The Impressions Others Form About Us, And The Effort To Do So Only Debases Our Character.

Nothing Great Is Produced Suddenly, Since Not Even The Grape Or The Fig Is. If You Say To Me Now That You Want A Fig, I Will Answer To You That It Requires Time: Let It Flower First, Then Put Forth Fruit, And Then Ripen.

The Essence Of Philosophy Is That A Man Should So Live That His Happiness Shall Depend As Little As Possible On External Things.

I Laugh At Those Who Think They Can Damage Me. They Do Not Know Who I Am, They Do Not Know What I Think, They Cannot Even Touch The Things Which Are Really Mine And With Which I Live.

Who Is Not Attracted By Bright And Pleasant Children, To Prattle, To Creep, And To Play With Them?

Nature Hath Given Men One Tongue But Two Ears, That We May Hear From Others Twice As Much As We Speak.

Of Pleasures, Those Which Occur Most Rarely Give The Most Delight.

God Has Entrusted Me With Myself. No Man Is Free Who Is Not Master Of Himself. A Man Should So Live That His Happiness Shall Depend As Little As Possible On External Things. The World Turns Aside To Let Any Man Pass Who Knows Where He Is Going.

The Wise Realize That Some Things Are Within Their Control, And Most Things Are Not. They Learn Early On To Distinguish Between What They Can And Can't Regulate.

The Origin Of Sorrow Is This: To Wish For Something That Does Not Come To Pass.

Does A Man Reproach Thee For Being Proud Or Ill-natured, Envious Or Conceited, Ignorant Or Detracting? Consider With Thyself Whether His Reproaches Are True. If They Are Not, Consider That Thou Art Not The Person Whom He Reproaches, But That He Reviles An Imaginary Being, And Perhaps Loves What Thou Really Art, Though He Hates What Thou Appearest To Be.

From Now On Practice Saying To Everything That Appears Unpleasant: You Are Merely An Appearance And Not What You Appear To Be.

The Beginning Of Philosophy Is A Consciousness Of Your Own Weakness And Inability In Necessary Things.

Every Art And Every Faculty Contemplates Certain Things As Its Principal Objects.

The Soul That Companies With Virtue Is Like An Ever-flowing Source. It Is A Pure, Clear, And Wholesome Draught, Sweet, Rich And Generous Of Its Store, That Injures Not, Neither Destroys.

Happiness And Freedom Begin With A Clear Understanding Of One Principle: Some Things Are Within Our Control, And Some Things Are Not. It Is Only After You Have Faced Up To This Fundamental Rule And Learned To Distinguish Between What You Can And Can't Control That Inner Tranquility And Outer Effectiveness Become Possible.

If You Would Be Well Spoken Of, Learn To Be Well-spoken; And Having Learnt To Be Well- Spoken, Strive Also To Be Well-doing; So Shall You Succeed In Being Well Spoken Of.

Choose The Life That Is Noblest, For Custom Can Make It Sweet To Thee.

All Religions Must Be Tolerated For Every Man Must Get To Heaven In His Own Way.

Do Not Try To Seem Wise To Others.

Whoever Does Not Regard What He Has As Most Ample Wealth, Is Unhappy, Though He Be Master Of The World.

Every Difficulty In Life Presents Us With An Opportunity To Turn Inward And To Invoke Our Own Submerged Inner Resources. The Trials We Endure Can And Should Introduce Us To Our Strengths.

Man Is Not Fully Free Unless He Is Master Of Himself.

If You Have Anything Better To Be Doing When Death Overtakes You, Get To Work On That.

If You Hear That Someone Is Speaking Ill Of You, Instead Of Trying To Defend Yourself You Should Say: 'he Obviously Does Not Know Me Very Well, Since There Are So Many Other Faults He Could Have Mentioned.'

If You Wish To Write, Write.

Against Specious Appearances We Must Set Clear Convictions, Bright And Ready For Use. When Death Appears As An Evil, We Ought Immediately To Remember That Evils Are Things To Be Avoided, But Death Is Inevitable.

In Trying To Please Other People, We Find Ourselves Misdirected Toward What Lies Outside Our Sphere Of Influence. In Doing So, We Lose Our Hold On Our Lifes Purpose.

Bid A Singer In A Chorus, Know Thyself; And Will He Not Turn For The Knowledge To The Others, His Fellows In The Chorus, And To His Harmony With Them?

Why, Do You Not Know, Then, That The Origin Of All Human Evils, And Of Baseness, And Cowardice, Is Not Death, But Rather The Fear Of Death?

There Is Only One Thing For Which God Has Sent Me Into The World, And That Is To Develop Every Kind Of Virtue Or Strength, And There Is Nothing In All The World That I Cannot Use For This Purpose.

And Be Silent For The Most Part, Or Else Make Only The Most Necessary Remarks, And Express These In Few Words. But Rarely, And When Occasion Requires You To Talk, Talk, Indeed, But About No Ordinary Topics. Do Not Talk About Gladiators, Or Horseraces, Or Athletes, Or Things To Eat Or Drink - Topics That Arise On All Occasions; But Above All, Do Not Talk About People, Either Blaming, Or Praising, Or Comparing Them.

If You Do Not Wish To Be Prone To Anger, Do Not Feed The Habit; Give It Nothing Which May Tend To Its Increase. At First, Keep Quiet And Count The Days When You Were Not Angry: "i Used To Be Angry Every Day, Then Every Other Day: Next, Every Two, Then Every Three Days!" And If You Succeed In Passing Thirty Days, Sacrifice To The Gods In Thanksgiving.

Tentative Efforts Lead To Tentative Outcome.

Never Say About Anything, "i Have Lost It," But Only "i Have Given It Back." Is Your Child Dead? It Has Been Given Back. Is Your Wife Dead? She Has Been Returned.

When Any Person Treats You Ill Or Speaks Ill Of You, Remember That He Does This Or Says This Because He Thinks It Is His Duty. It Is Not Possible, Then, For Him To Follow That Which Seems Right To You, But That Which Seems Right To Himself.

Each Man's Life Is A Kind Of Campaign, And A Long And Complicated One At That. You Have To Maintain The Character Of A Soldier, And Do Each Separate Act At The Bidding Of The General.

There Is But One Way To Tranquility Of Mind And Happiness, And That Is To Account No External Things Thine Own, But To Commit All To God.

Never Call Yourself A Philosopher, Nor Talk A Great Deal Among The Unlearned About Theorems, But Act Conformably To Them. Thus, At An Entertainment, Don't Talk How Persons Ought To Eat, But Eat As You Ought. For Remember That In This Manner Socrates Also Universally Avoided All Ostentation.

Give Me By All Means The Shorter And Nobler Life, Instead Of One That Is Longer But Of Less Account!

Things True And Evident Must Of Necessity Be Recognized By Those Who Would Contradict Them.

Freedom Is Not Procured By A Full Enjoyment Of What Is Desired, But By Controlling The Desire.

Act Your Part With Honor.

Be Careful Whom You Associate With. It Is Human To Imitate The Habits Of Those With Whom We Interact. We Inadvertently Adopt Their Interests, Their Opinions, Their Values, And Their Habit Of Interpreting Events.

An Ignorant Person Is Inclined To Blame Others For His Own Misfortune. To Blame Oneself Is Proof Of Progress. But The Wise Man Never Has To Blame Another Or Himself.

When We Act Pugnaciously, And Injuriously, And Angrily, And Rudely, To What Level Have We Degenerated? To The Level Of The Wild Beasts. Well, The Fact Is That Some Of Us Are Wild Beasts Of A Larger Size, While Others Are Little Animals, Malignant And Petty.

To Make Anything A Habit, Do It; To Not Make It A Habit, Do Not Do It; To Unmake A Habit, Do Something Else In Place Of It.

Nothing Truly Stops You. Nothing Truly Holds You Back. For Your Own Will Is Always Within Your Control. Sickness May Challenge Your Body. But Are You Merely Your Body? Lameness May Impede Your Legs. But You Are Not Merely Your Legs. Your Will Is Bigger Than Your Legs. Your Will Needn't Be Affected By An Incident Unless You Let It.

Never Say Of Anything I Have Lost It, Only Say That I Have Given It Back.

Don't Be Prideful With Any Excellence That Is Not Your Own

Think Of God Oftener Than You Breathe.

First Learn The Meaning Of What You Say, And Then Speak.

Consider First The Nature Of The Business In Hand; Then Examine Thy Own Nature, Whether Thou Hast Strength To Undertake It.

It Is No Easy Thing For A Principle To Become A Man's Own Unless Each Day He Maintains It And Works It Out In His Life.

Caretake This Moment. Immerse Yourself In Its Particulars. Respond To This Person, This Challenge, This Deed. Quit Evasions. Stop Giving Yourself Needless Trouble. It Is Time To Really Live; To Fully Inhabit The Situation You Happen To Be In Now.

We Need To Regularly Stop And Take Stock; To Sit Down And Determine Within Ourselves Which Things Are Worth Valuing And Which Things Are Not; Which Risks Are Worth The Cost And Which Are Not. Even The Most Confusing Or Hurtful Aspects Of Life Can Be Made More Tolerable By Clear Seeing And By Choice.

Neither Should A Ship Rely On One Small Anchor, Nor Should Life Rest On A Single Hope.

Every Place Is Safe To Him Who Lives With Justice.

When You Let Go Of Your Attention For A Little While, Do Not Think You May Recover It Whenever You Please.

Everything Has Two Handles,-one By Which It May Be Borne; Another By Which It Cannot.

When You Want To Hear A Philosopher, Do Not Say, 'you Say Nothing To Me'; Only Show Yourself Worthy Or Fit To Hear, And Then You Will See How You Will Move The Speaker.

At Every Occasion In Your Life, Do Not Forget To Commune With Yourself And Ask Of Yourself How You Can Profit By It.

It Is Not A Demonstration Of Kindness Or Friendship To The People We Care About To Join Them In Indulging In Wrongheaded, Negative Feelings. We Do A Better Service To Ourselves And Others By Remaining Detached And Avoiding Melodramatic Reactions.

Envy Is The Antagonist Of The Fortunate.

Not Things, But Opinions About Things, Trouble Men.

If Thou Rememberest That God Standeth By To Behold And Visit All That Thou Doest; Whether In The Body Or In The Soul, Thou Surely Wilt Not Err In Any Prayer Or Deed; And Thou Shalt Have God To Dwell With Thee.

It Is Wicked To Withdraw From Being Useful To The Needy, And Cowardly To Give Way To The Worthless.

It Is Impossible For A Man To Learn What He Thinks He Already Knows.

What Is The First Business Of One Who Practices Philosophy? To Get Rid Of Self-conceit. For It Is Impossible For Anyone To Begin To Learn That Which He Thinks He Already Knows.

He Is A Drunkard Who Takes More Than Three Glasses Though He Be Not Drunk.

Act Well Your Given Part; The Choice Rests Not With You.

The Greater The Difficulty The More Glory In Surmounting It. Skillful Pilots Gain Their Reputation From Storms And Tempests.

Truth Is A Thing Immortal And Perpetual, And It Gives To Us A Beauty That Fades Not Away In Time, Nor Does It Take Away The Freedom Of Speech Which Proceeds From Justice; But It Gives To Us The Knowledge Of What Is Just And Lawful, Separating From Them The Unjust And Refuting Them.

It’s Time To Stop Being Vague. If You Wish To Be An Extraordinary Person, If You Wish To Be Wise, Then You Should Explicitly Identify The Kind Of Person You Aspire To Become.

Extraordinary Person

The Key Is To Keep Company Only With People Who Uplift You, Whose Presence Calls Forth Your Best.

You Know Yourself What You Are Worth In Your Own Eyes; And At What Price You Will Sell Yourself. For Men Sell Themselves At Various Prices. This Is Why, When Florus Was Deliberating Whether He Should Appear At Nero's Shows, Taking Part In The Performance Himself, Agrippinus Replied, 'appear By All Means.' And When Florus Inquired, 'but Why Do Not You Appear?' He Answered, 'because I Do Not Even Consider The Question.'

Don't Be Concerned Who Is Watching You. The Triumphs And Merits Of Others Belong To Them - As Do Yours To You. Make The Most Of What You've Got.

The Cause Of All Human Evils Is The Not Being Able To Apply General Principles To Special Cases.

Liars Are The Cause Of All The Sins And Crimes In The World.

One Of The Best Ways To Elevate Your Character Is To Emulate Worthy Role Models

Bear In Mind That You Should Conduct Yourself In Life As At A Feast.

In Theory There Is Nothing To Hinder Our Following What We Are Taught;but In Life There Are Many Things To Draw Us Aside.

Men Are Disturbed Not By The Things That Happen, But By Their Opinion Of The Things That Happen.

We Do Not Choose Our Own Parts In Life, And Have Nothing To Do With Those Parts. Our Duty Is Confined To Playing Them Well.

Let No Man Think That He Is Loved By Any Who Loveth None.

Fortune Is An Evil Chain To The Body, And Vice To The Soul.

Attach Yourself To What Is Spiritually Superior, Regardless Of What Other People Think Or Do. Hold To Your True Aspirations No Matter What Is Going On Around You.

Be Free From Grief Not Through Insensibility Like The Irrational Animals, Nor Through Want Of Thought Like The Foolish, But Like A Man Of Virtue By Having Reason As The Consolation Of Grief.

If I Can Acquire Money And Also Keep Myself Modest And Faithful And Magnanimous, Point Out The Way, And I Will Acquire It.

Not Every Difficult And Dangerous Thing Is Suitable For Training, But Only That Which Is Conducive To Success In Achieving The Object Of Our Effort.

Some Of Their Faults Men Readily Admit, But Others Not So Readily.

The Materials Are Indifferent, But The Use We Make Of Them Is Not A Matter Of Indifference.

In Prosperity It Is Very Easy To Find A Friend; But In Adversity It Is The Most Difficult Of All Things.

Whoever Is Going To Listen To The Philosophers Needs A Considerable Practice In Listening.

It Is Better To Advise Than Upbraid, For The One Corrects The Erring; The Other Only Convicts Them.

Let Death And Exile, And All Other Things Which Appear Terrible Be Daily Before Your Eyes, But Chiefly Death, And You Win Never Entertain Any Abject Thought, Nor Too Eagerly Covet Anything.

When A Youth Was Giving Himself Airs In The Theatre And Saying, 'i Am Wise, For I Have Conversed With Many Wise Men,' Epictetus Replied, 'i Too Have Conversed With Many Rich Men, Yet I Am Not Rich!’.

Seek To Be The Purple Thread In The Long White Gown.

Lampis The Ship Owner, On Being Asked How He Acquired His Great Wealth, Replied, My Great Wealth Was Acquired With No Difficulty, But My Small Wealth, My First Gains, With Much Labor.

Is Freedom Anything Else Than The Power Of Living As We Choose? Nothing Else. Tell Me Then, You Men, Do You Wish To Live In Error? We Do Not. No One Who Lives In Error Is Free. Do You Wish To Live In Fear? Do You Wish To Live In Sorrow? Do You Wish To Live In Tension? By No Means. No One Who Is In A State Of Fear Or Sorrow Or Tension Is Free, But Whoever Is Delivered From Sorrows Or Fears Or Anxieties, He Is At The Same Time Also Delivered From Servitude.

It Is The Sign Of A Dull Mind To Dwell Upon The Cares Of The Body, To Prolong Exercise, Eating And Drinking And Other Bodily Functions. These Things Are Best Done By The Way; All Your Attention Must Be Given To The Mind.

The People Have A Right To The Truth As They Have A Right To Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness.

First Tell Yourself What You Want To Be, Then Do What You Need To Do.

Wisdom Means Understanding Without Any Doubt That Circumstances Do Not Rise To Meet Our Expectations. Events Happen As They May. People Behave As They Will.

Within Our Control Are Our Own Opinions, Aspirations, And Desires And The Demons That Distract Us From These Goals. Outside Of Our Control Are Such Things As What Kind Of Body We Have, Whether Or Not We Are Born Into Wealth, And How We Are Regarded By Others.

Living A Good Life Leads To Enduring Happiness. Goodness In And Of Itself Is The Practice And The Reward.

It's Not What Happens To You, But How You React To It That Matters.

No Man Is Able To Make Progress When He Is Wavering Between Opposite Things.

If You Seek Truth, You Will Not Seek To Gain A Victory By Every Possible Means; And When You Have Found Truth, You Need Not Fear Being Defeated.

If You Want To Improve, Be Content To Be Thought Foolish And Stupid.

He Who Exercises Wisdom Exercises The Knowledge Which Is About God.

The Soul's Impurity Consists In Bad Judgements, And Purification Consists In Producing In It Right Judgements, And The Pure Soul Is One Which Has Right Judgements, For This Alone Is Proof Against Confusion And Pollution In Its Functions.

Concerning The Gods, There Are Those Who Deny The Very Existence Of The Godhead; Others Say That It Exists, But Neither Bestirs Nor Concerns Itself Not Has Forethought Far Anything. A Third Party Attribute To It Existence And Forethought, But Only For Great And Heavenly Matters, Not For Anything That Is On Earth. A Fourth Party Admit Things On Earth As Well As In Heaven, But Only In General, And Not With Respect To Each Individual. A Fifth, Of Whom Were Ulysses And Socrates, Are Those That Cry: -- I Move Not Without Thy Knowledge!

It Is Not Death Or Pain That Is To Be Dreaded, But The Fear Of Pain Or Death.

Renew Every Day Your Conversation With God: Do This Even In Preference To Eating. Think More Often Of God Than You Breathe.

It Were No Slight Attainment Could We Merely Fulfil What The Nature Of Man Implies.

By Accepting Life's Limits And Inevitabilities And Working With Them Rather Than Fighting Them, We Become Free.

What Hurts This Person Is Not The Occurrence Itself, For Another Person Might Not Feel Oppressed By This Situation At All. What Is Hurting This Person Is The Response He Or She Has Uncritically Adopted. It Is Not A Demonstration Of Kindness Or Friendship To The People We Care About To Join Them In Indulging In Wrongheaded, Negative Feelings.

In The Long Run, Every Man Will Pay The Penalty For This Own Misdeeds.

Everything Has Two Handles; The One Soft And Manageable, The Other Such As Will Not Endure To Be Touched. If Then Your Brother Do You An Injury, Do Not Take It By The Hot Hard Handle, By Representing To Yourself All The Aggravating Circumstances Of The Fact; But Look Rather On The Soft Side, And Extenuate It As Much As Is Possible, By Considering The Nearness Of The Relation, And The Long Friendship And Familiarity Between You--obligations To Kindness Which A Single Provocation Ought Not To Dissolve. And Thus You Will Take The Accident By Its Manageable Handle.

When You Actively Engage In Gradually Refining Yourself, You Retreat From Your Lazy Ways Of Covering Yourself Or Making Excuses. Instead Of Feeling A Persistent Current Of Low-level Shame, You Move Forward By Using The Creative Possibilities Of This Moment, Your Current Situation.

The Two Powers Which In My Opinion Constitute A Wise Man Are Those Of Bearing And Forbearing.

You Can Be Happy If You Know This Secret: Some Things Are Within Your Power To Control And Some Things Are Not.

Who Are Those People By Whom You Wish To Be Admired? Are They Not These Whom You Are In The Habit Of Saying That They Are Mad? What Then? Do You Wish To Be Admired By The Mad?

You Ought To Choose Both Physician And Friend, Not The Most Agreeable, But The Most Useful.

Some Things Are Up To Us [eph' Hêmin] And Some Things Are Not Up To Us. Our Opinions Are Up To Us, And Our Impulses, Desires, Aversions–in Short, Whatever Is Our Own Doing. Our Bodies Are Not Up To Us, Nor Are Our Possessions, Our Reputations, Or Our Public Offices, Or, That Is, Whatever Is Not Our Own Doing.

Anything Worth Putting Off Is Worth Abandoning Altogether.

Procrastination

It Is Difficulties That Show What Men Are.

Wherever I Go It Will Be Well With Me, For It Was Well With Me Here, Not On Account Of The Place, But Of My Judgments Which I Shall Carry Away With Me, For No One Can Deprive Me Of These; On The Contrary, They Alone Are My Property, And Cannot Be Taken Away, And To Possess Them Suffices Me Wherever I Am Or Whatever I Do.

Events Do Not Just Happen, But Arrive By Appointment.

When Men Are Unhappy, They Do Not Imagine They Can Ever Cease To Be So; And When Some Calamity Has Fallen On Them, They Do Not See How They Can Get Rid Of It. Nevertheless, Both Arrive; And The Gods Have Ordered It So, In The End Men Seek It From The Gods

What Is It That Every Man Seeks? To Be Secure, To Be Happy, To Do What He Pleases Without Restraint And Without Compulsion.

It Is Not Things In Themselves Which Trouble Us, But Our Opinions Of Things.

No Man Is Disturbed By Things, But By His Opinion About Things.

What Is It To Be A Philosopher? Is It Not To Be Prepared Against Events?

To Accuse Others For One's Own Misfortunes Is A Sign Of Want Of Education. To Accuse Oneself Shows That One's Education Has Begun. To Accuse Neither Oneself Nor Others Shows That One's Education Is Complete.

Forgiveness Is Better Than Revenge, For Forgiveness Is The Sign Of A Gentle Nature, But Revenge Is The Sign Of A Savage Nature. The Forgiveness Of Our Trespasses, According To The Riches Of His Grace.

The World Turns Aside To Let Any Man Pass Who Knows Where He Is Going.

Shall I Show You The Sinews Of A Philosopher? What Sinews Are Those? - A Will Undisappointed; Evils Avoided; Powers Daily Exercised; Careful Resolutions; Unerring Decisions.

Since It Is Reason Which Shapes And Regulates All Other Things, It Ought Not Itself To Be Left In Disorder.

It Is Impossible That Happiness, And Yearning For What Is Not Present, Should Ever Be United.

Unless We Place Our Religion And Our Treasure In The Same Thing, Religion Will Always Be Sacrificed.

Consider The Bigger Picture.....think Things Through And Fully Commit!

Seek Not Good From Without; Seek It Within Yourselves, Or You Will Never Find It.

If You Have Assumed A Character Above Your Strength, You Have Both Acted In This Matter In An Unbecoming Way, And You Have Neglected That Which You Might Have Fulfilled.

So You Wish To Conquer In The Olympic Games, My Friend? And I, Too... But First Mark The Conditions And The Consequences. You Will Have To Put Yourself Under Discipline; To Eat By Rule, To Avoid Cakes And Sweetmeats; To Take Exercise At The Appointed Hour Whether You Like It Or Not, In Cold And Heat; To Abstain From Cold Drinks And Wine At Your Will. Then, In The Conflict Itself You Are Likely Enough To Dislocate Your Wrist Or Twist Your Ankle, To Swallow A Great Deal Of Dust, To Be Severely Thrashed, And After All Of These Things, To Be Defeated.

Give Yourself Fully To Your Endeavors. Decide To Construct Your Character Through Excellent Actions And Determine To Pay The Price Of A Worthy Goal. The Trials You Encounter Will Introduce You To Your Strengths.

No Man Is Free Who Is Not Master Of Himself.

Freedom Is The Only Worthy Goal In Life. It Is Won By Disregarding Things That Lie Beyond Our Control. Stop Aspiring To Be Anyone Other Than Your Own Best Self: For That Does Fall Within Your Control.

Know, First, Who You Are, And Then Adorn Yourself Accordingly.

It Is The Part Of An Uneducated Person To Blame Others Where He Himself Fares Ill; To Blame Himself Is The Part Of One Whose Education Has Begun; To Blame Neither Another Nor His Own Self Is The Part Of One Whose Education Is Already Complete.

Focus Not On What He Or She Does, But On Keeping To Your Higher Purpose. Your Own Purpose Should Seek Harmony With Nature Itself. For This Is The True Road To Freedom.

Fortify Yourself With Contentment, For This Is An Impregnable Fortress.

What Thou Avoidest Suffering Thyself Seek Not To Impose On Others.

What Ought One To Say Then As Each Hardship Comes? I Was Practicing For This, I Was Training For This.

The Best Place To Get Help Is From Yourself.

Two Principles We Should Always Have Ready — That There Is Nothing Good Or Evil Save In The Will; And That We Are Not To Lead Events, But To Follow Them.

Sickness Is A Hindrance To The Body, But Not To Your Ability To Choose, Unless That Is Your Choice. Lameness Is A Hindrance To The Leg, But Not To Your Ability To Choose. Say This To Yourself With Regard To Everything That Happens, Then You Will See Such Obstacles As Hindrances To Something Else, But Not To Yourself.

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