“Don’t trust in your reputation,money, or position, but in thestrength that is yours— namely,your judgments about the thingsthat you control and don’tcontrol. For this alone is whatmakes us free and unfettered,that picks us up by the neck fromthe depths and lifts us eye to eyewith the rich and powerful.”

“The chief task in life is simplythis: to identify and separatematters so that I can say clearlyto myself which are externals notunder my control, and whichhave to do with the choices Iactually control. Where then do Ilook for good and evil? Not touncontrollable externals, butwithin myself to the choices thatare my own"

“For if a person shifts theircaution to their own reasonedchoices and the acts of thosechoices, they will at the sametime gain the will to avoid, but ifthey shift their caution away fromtheir own reasoned choices tothings not under their control,seeking to avoid what iscontrolled by others, they willthen be agitated, fearful, andunstable.”

“It isn’t events themselves thatdisturb people, but only theirjudgments about them.”

We suffer not from eventsin our lives. But from ourjudgment about them

“Keep constant guard over yourperceptions, for it is no smallthing you are protecting, but yourrespect, trustworthiness andsteadiness, peace of mind,freedom from pain and fear, in aword your freedom. For whatwould you sell these things?”

“Consider who you are. Aboveall, a human being, carrying nogreater power than your ownreasoned choice, which overseesall other things, and is free fromany other master.”

Man's Search for Meaning

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Fundamental of stoicism

“An important place to begin inphilosophy is this: a clearperception of one’s own rulingprinciple.”

“Difficulties show a person’scharacter. So when a challengeconfronts you, remember thatGod is matching you with ayounger sparring partner, aswould a physical trainer. Why?Becoming an Olympian takessweat! I think no one has a betterchallenge than yours, if only youwould use it like an athlete wouldthat younger sparring partner.”

“If you are defeated once andtell yourself you will overcome,but carry on as before, know inthe end you’ll be so ill andweakened that eventually youwon’t even notice your mistakeand will begin to rationalize yourbehavior.”

“If a person gave away your bodyto some passerby, you’d befurious. Yet you hand over yourmind to anyone who comesalong, so they may abuse you,leaving it disturbed andtroubled— have you no shame inthat?”

“Keep in mind that it isn’t the onewho has it in for you and takes aswipe that harms you, but ratherthe harm comes from your ownbelief about the abuse. So whensomeone arouses your anger,know that it’s really your ownopinion fueling it. Instead, make ityour first response not to becarried away by such impressions,for with time and distanceself-mastery is more easilyachieved.”

“If you wish to improve, becontent to appear clueless orstupid in extraneous matters—don’t wish to seemknowledgeable"

“When children stick their hand down anarrow goody jar they can’t get their full fistout and start crying. Drop a few treats andyou will get it out! Curb your desire— don’tset your heart on so many things and youwill get what you need.”

Training your self discipline

“When you let your attentionslide for a bit, don’t think you willget back a grip on it wheneveryou wish— instead, bear in mindthat because of today’s mistakeeverything that follows will benecessarily worse. . . . Is itpossible to be free from error?Not by any means, but it ispossible to be a person alwaysstretching to avoid error. For wemust be content to at leastescape a few mistakes by neverletting our attention slide."

“Every habit and capability isconfirmed and grows in itscorresponding actions, walkingby walking, and running byrunning . . . therefore, if you wantto do something make a habit ofit, if you don’t want to do that,don’t, but make a habit ofsomething else instead. The sameprinciple is at work in our state ofmind. When you get angry,you’ve not only experienced thatevil, but you’ve also reinforced abad habit, adding fuel to thefire.”

“First tell yourself what kind ofperson you want to be, then dowhat you have to do. For innearly every pursuit we see thisto be the case. Those in athleticpursuit first choose the sportthey want, and then do thatwork.”

“When I see an anxious person, I askmyself, what do they want? For if a personwasn’t wanting something outside of theirown control, why would they be stricken byanxiety?”

“Above all, keep a close watch onthis— that you are never so tiedto your former acquaintances andfriends that you are pulled downto their level. If you don’t, you’llbe ruined. . . . You must choosewhether to be loved by thesefriends and remain the sameperson, or to become a betterperson at the cost of thosefriends . . . if you try to have itboth ways you will neither makeprogress nor keep what you oncehad.”