Epictetus Events Quotations

Do not seek to have events happen as you want them to, but instead want them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go well

Man is troubled not by events, but by the meaning he gives them.

We are not to lead events, but to follow them.

What is it to be a philosopher? Is it not to be prepared against events?

Don't seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and all will be well with you.

Events do not just happen, but arrive by appointment.

Ask yourself: Does this appearance (of events) concern the things that are within my own control or those that are not? If it concerns anything outside your control, train yourself not to worry about it.

What disturbs people's minds are not events but their judgments on events.

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.

It is our attitude toward events, not events themselves, which we can control. Nothing is by its own nature calamitous -- even death is terrible only if we fear it.