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

Epictetus

Don’t demand or expect that events happen as you would wish them do. Accept events as they actually happen. That way, peace is possible.
EPICTETUS

Acceptance Demand Expectation Happen Peace Possible
All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way.
EPICTETUS

Acceptance Heaven Life Man Religion Tolerance
First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.
EPICTETUS

Goodness Learning Manner Speak
It is not he who reviles or strikes you who insults you, but your opinion that these things are insulting.
EPICTETUS

Attitude Insult Let Go Opinion Philosophy Strike
You become what you give your attention to. If you yourself don’t choose what thoughts and images you expose yourself to, someone else will, and their motives may not be the highest.
EPICTETUS

Attention Choose Expose Giving Self Love Yourself
In trying to please other people, we find ourselves misdirected toward what lies outside our sphere of influence. In doing so, we lose our hold on our lifes purpose.
EPICTETUS

Goals Influence Lie Life Please Purpose
Other people’s views and troubles can be contagious. Don’t sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others.
EPICTETUS

Adopt Association Attitude Negative People Trouble
No man is free who is not master of himself.
EPICTETUS

Freedom Himself Inspirational Master One Liner
In prosperity it is very easy to find a friend; but in adversity it is the most difficult of all things.
EPICTETUS

Adversity Difficult Finding Friendship Prosperity
Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.
EPICTETUS

Control Freedom Goals Life Win Worth
Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power.
EPICTETUS

Arise Control Neglect Power Suffering Try
Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.
EPICTETUS

Anxiety Imagination Man Problem Worry
Wisdom means understanding without any doubt that circumstances do not rise to meet our expectations. Events happen as they may. People behave as they will.
EPICTETUS

Behaviour Circumstance Expectation People Understand Wisdom
Authentic happiness is always independent of external conditions.
EPICTETUS

Authentic Condition Happiness Independence Inspirational
Desire and happiness cannot live together.
EPICTETUS

Desire Happiness Live One Liner Togetherness
When we blather about trivial things, we ourselves become trivial, for our attention gets taken up with trivialities. You become what you give your attention to.
EPICTETUS

Attention Character Giving Inspirational Ourselves

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

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

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