Do you know who this is?

His name was Epictetus.

He was a Greek Philosopher who was born a slave.

And yet, he lived a free man and was able to become one of the best philosophers of his time.

He has written books that are still read by our generation like ‘The Golden sayings of Epictetus’, ‘The works of Epictetus’ and ‘How to be free’.

He has spoken or written the most incredible and meaningful quotes on almost every self-improvement subject imaginable.

Let us see some of them:

When I worry, I know that it is not good for me. And yet, I can’t help but worry. I can’t seem to get out of this bad habit.

Epictetus said this on worry:

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

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When I am happy, I want to grasp this happiness with every of my being and in doing so, I squash it.

I do not know that worrying about whether this happiness will stay with me or not is indirectly pushing it away from me.

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” Epictetus

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When I am surrounded by lots and lots of people and I do not realize they have an influence on me, Epictetus has an answer for me:

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

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When I am not a slave and yet am controlled by my anger or by my bad habits like backstabbing or rumor spreading or negativity or by anything that controls me, I am still not free.

“No man is free who is not a master of himself.” Epictetus

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When I am angry, I can’t imagine getting out of this breath stealing emotion.

After the moment passes, I promise myself to never be angry again. But then, someone makes me angry and I can’t control my feelings. Then the cycle begins again.

“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.” Epictetus

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You know what we do? We let circumstances define us.

We find ourselves in a certain situation and convince ourselves this is what it has to be.

The Greek philosopher said it is not.

“Circumstances don’t make the man, they could reveal him to himself.”

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No can learn a single thing if he has already decided that he knows everything.

Can you pour more water into this already filled glass?

No. You can’t.

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

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It’s not easy to keep my mouth shut when I am in a conversation.

It’s not easy to keep on listening when you do not agree with what the other person is saying.

It’s not easy but I have to because even if I am tempted to interrupt or just take my turn, I know I am doing the right thing by listening.

Here is what Epictetus’ said on communication:

“Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.”

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Have you encountered a problem too overwhelming?

And you talk yourself out of solving the problem because it was too much.

The conversations often goes like this:

You: “Can I solve this problem? Am I capable to do it?”

Your inner talk: “The problem is too big for you to handle.”

Epictetus said quite the opposite when it comes to overcoming difficulties:

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

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Lastly I leave you with this quote that describes perfectly how you are the only person who controls your mind.

“Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted or to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control.”Epictetus

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To Your Inspirations,

Banchi