Quotes by Epictetus

“As you think, so you become.....Our busy minds are forever jumping to conclusions, manufacturing and interpreting signs that aren't there.”

“You can be happy if you know this secret: Some things are within your power to control and some things are not.”

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

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

“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master.”

“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.”

“Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power.”

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

“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.”

“He who is not happy with little will never be happy with much.”

“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.”

“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.”