Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own… The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. On the other hand a life focused on doing what we can with what we have, is much more likely to be productive, effective, empowering, and all together more constructive. A life of attempting to control the uncontrollable with undoubtedly be one of bitterness, frustration and wasted effort. This distinction is important, because no matter how much we try, no matter how upset we get, or frustrated we get, we cannot change the things outside the reach of our control. The philosopher Epictetus coined the Dichotomy of Control, and other Stoics like Marcus Aurelius, Musonius Rufus, and Seneca all talk about the concept of control in their own way.Įpictetus taught that the path to a happy life, a life of what the Stoics called Eudaimonia, was found in two things:Ĭorrectly identifying what is within our control, and what is not.įocusing our effort on the things within our control and learning to accept what is not. Control is a core concept in Stoic philosophy.
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