Epictetus

One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent.

When someone is properly grounded in life, they shouldn’t have to look outside themselves for approval.

Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee.

Any person capable of angering you becomes your master.

When someone is properly grounded in life they shouldnt have to look outside themselves for approval.

If you would be good first believe that you are bad.

People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.

First learn the meaning of what you say and then speak.

What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us but our interpretation of their significance.

Its not what happens to you but how you react to it that matters.

If evil be spoken of you and it be true correct yourself if it be a lie laugh at it.

Liars are the cause of all the sins and crimes in the world.

Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

When our friends are present we ought to treat them well and when they are absent to speak of them well.

Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.

Silence is safer than speech.

Fortify yourself with moderation; for this is an impregnable fortress.

If thy brother wrongs thee remember not so much his wrong doing but more than ever that he is thy brother.

Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public.

If you want to improve, you must be content to be thought foolish and stupid.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing.

Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.

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.

The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you whose presence calls forth your best.

If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother.

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

You can be invincible, if you enter into no contest in which it is not in your power to conquer.

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not but rejoices for those which he has.

If you desire to be good begin by believing that you are wicked.

He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk.

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

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.

No great thing is created suddenly.

What upsets people is not things themselves, but their judgements about these things.

It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.

When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.

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.

If a man is unhappy, remember that his unhappiness is his own fault, for God made all men to be happy.

We should not have either a blunt knife or a freedom of speech which is ill managed.

Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a habit.

It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your opinion that these things are insulting.

Its so simple really If you say youre going to do something do it. If you start something finish it.

Men are not afraid of things, but of how they view them.

When one maintains her proper attitude in life he does not long after externals.

Pleasure like a kind of bait is thrown before everything which is really bad and easily allures greedy souls to the hook of perdition.

Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, and you will find them.

First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.

If virtue promises happiness, prosperity and peace, then progress in virtue is progress in each of these for to whatever point the perfection of anything brings us, progress is always an approach toward it.

It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death.

Dont explain your philosophy. Embody it.

The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.

No man is free who is not master of himself.

Difficulties are things that show a person what they are.

Difficulties show men what they are. In case of any difficulty, God has pitted you against a rough antagonist that you may be a conqueror, and this cannot be without toil.

Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but accustom yourself to something else.

A man that seeks truth and loves it must be reckoned precious to any human society.

Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.

All philosophy lies in two words sustain and abstain.

No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.

Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.

Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.

If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.

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.

Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it.

Getting distracted by trifles is the easiest thing in the world Focus on your main duty

Happiness and personal fulfillment are the natural consequences of doing the right thing.

Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired but by controlling the desire.

People are not disturbed by things but by the view they take of them.

If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.

Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you and be silent.

Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.

We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral.

You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.

God has pitted you against a rough antagonist that you may be a conqueror, and this cannot be without toil.

Know first who you are and then adorn yourself accordingly.

As it is pleasant to see the sea from the land, so it is pleasant for him who has escaped from troubles to think of them.

Never say you are alone for you are not alone your God and your genius is within.

If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.

Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.

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.

God has entrusted me with myself.

The appearance of things to the mind is the standard of every action to man.

It takes more than just a good looking body. You've got to have the heart and soul to go with it.

Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.

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.

We all carry the seeds of greatness within us, but we need an image as a point of focus in order that they may sprout.

Just keep in mind: the more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.

If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means, and if you find truth you will become invincible.

Fortify yourself with contentment for this is an impregnable fortress.

It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them.

Seek not for events to happen as you wish but rather wish for events to happen as they do and your life will go smoothly.

There is nothing good or evil save in the will.

Practice yourself in little things, and thence proceed to greater.

Reason is not measured by size or height, but by principle.

Freedom is the right to live as we wish.

Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants.