“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens. Some things are up to us and some things are not up to us.”
Source: Epictetus, Discourses, Book 1, Chapter 1
“Don’t demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well.”
Source: Epictetus, Enchiridion, Section 8
When tempted by immediate pleasure, resist the urge to act impulsively. Instead, pause and give yourself time to reflect. Consider two future moments: the brief satisfaction you’ll experience if you indulge, and the regret you’ll likely feel afterward. Weigh these against the pride and self-respect you’ll gain from exercising restraint. Even when gratification seems justified or timely, be aware of how seductive and compelling it can appear in the moment. Remember that the satisfaction of overcoming temptation and demonstrating self-control is far more valuable than the fleeting pleasure itself.
Source: Epictetus, Enchiridion (The Handbook), Section 34, translated by Elizabeth Carter.
It’s not that we have little time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and we’ve been given a generous amount to accomplish great things—if we invest it wisely. But when it’s squandered on luxury, carelessness, and pursuits that don’t matter, when it’s spent on nothing worthwhile, we finally realize it’s gone only when death forces us to notice. The problem isn’t that life is short. The problem is that we treat it as if it’s infinite.
Source: Seneca, On the Shortness of Life (De Brevitate Vitae), Section 1
