Epictetus Thinking Quotations

What concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way people think things are.

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

Do nothing in a depressed mood, nor as one afflicted, nor as thinking that you are in misery, for no one compels you to that.

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.

Think of God more often than thou breathest.

Think of God oftener than you breathe.

If you wish to live a life free from sorrow, think of what is going to happen as if it had already happened.

If you think you control things that are in the control of others, you will lament. You will be disturbed and you will blame both gods and men.

Things themselves don't hurt or hinder us. Things simply are what they are. How we view these things is another matter.People think what they will think; it is of no concern to us.

Watch yourself as you go about your daily business and later reflect on what you saw, trying to identify the sources of distress in your life and thinking about how to avoid that distress.

Let no man think that he is loved by any who loveth none.

I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not know who I am, they do not know what I think, they cannot even touch the things which are really mine and with which I live.

When you let go of your attention for a little while, do not think you may recover it whenever you please.

It is not so much what happens to you as how you think about what happens." Epictetus

Consider the bigger picture.....think things through and fully commit!

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.

Embrace reality. Think about what delights you - the small luxuries on which you depend, the people whom you cherish most. But remember that they have their own distinct character, which is quite a separate matter from how we happen to regard them.

Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person. Books are the training weights of the mind. They are very helpful, but it would be a bad mistake to suppose that one has made progress simply by having internalized their contents." Translation by Sharon Lebell

Nothing truly stops you. Nothing truly holds you back. For your own will is always within your control.

Renew every day your conversation with God: Do this even in preference to eating. Think more often of God than you breathe.

When any person treats you ill or speaks ill of you, remember that he does this or says this because he thinks it is his duty. It is not possible, then, for him to follow that which seems right to you, but that which seems right to himself.

It is unreasonable to think we can earn rewards without being willing to pay their true price. It is always our choice whether or not we wish to pay the price for life's rewards.

What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows.

Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do. Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you.