"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have."

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Only avoid undesirable things within your control. Focus your aversions on things you can influence to minimize distress.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Refrain from desiring things temporarily if they are outside your control. Avoid setting yourself up for disappointment by desiring the uncontrollable.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">This practice prevents disappointment and mental anguish. By controlling your desires and aversions, you shield yourself from unnecessary suffering.</li></ul>

Manage Desires and Aversions

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Anticipate common disruptions in everyday activities. Expecting common challenges helps maintain composure.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Resolve to maintain inner tranquility regardless of external disturbances. Stay calm amidst external chaos to keep inner peace.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Apply this mindset to every action and experience. This approach can be used universally to handle life's unpredictability.</li></ul>

Prepare for Common Occurrences

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">People are disturbed by their interpretations, not the events themselves. Understand that reactions are based on perceptions, not actual events.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Blame your judgments for emotional states, not others. Recognize your interpretations as the source of your emotions.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Master philosophy by holding yourself accountable. Self-awareness and accountability are key to emotional mastery.</li></ul>

Differentiate Reality and Interpretation

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Stay focused on your mission and be ready to let go of distractions. Keep your goals in sight and be prepared to abandon non-essential pursuits.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Aspire to handle all situations well, not just to have everything go well. Strive for excellence in your responses, regardless of circumstances.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Your resolve and inner strength determine your true self. Inner strength and determination are key to overcoming life's challenges.</li></ul>

Maintain Focus and Readiness

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Refrain from desiring anything that relies on someone else. Freedom comes from wanting only what you can control.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Desire freedom by focusing on what you can control. Redirect your desires towards achievable and internal goals.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Avoid envy and imitation; strive for inner virtues. Cultivate your virtues rather than imitating others' successes.</li></ul>

Embrace the Path to Freedom

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.

"The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have."

"The greatest wealth is to live content with little."

"The only way to happiness is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will."

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."

"Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it."

"He who fears death will never do anything worth of a living man."

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Find satisfaction in how you live, not in possessions or accomplishments. True value lies in living authentically and in harmony with nature.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Conduct your life with integrity and honor. Uphold your principles to maintain self-respect.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">True value lies in living in harmony with nature. Align your actions with your values for a fulfilling life.</li></ul>

Live by Your Own Conduct

"Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control."

"Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself."

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Control your opinions, goals, desires, and actions. Our internal thoughts and actions fall within our control, and focusing on these areas leads to empowerment.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Recognize that physical attributes and external circumstances are beyond your control. Things like our physical features and birth circumstances are out of our hands.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Operating within your control sphere grants freedom and strength. Concentrating on what you can control can also give you independence and resilience.</li></ul>

Focus on What You Can Control

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Placing hopes in external things can lead to suffering. Depending on external factors for happiness often results in disappointment.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Concentrate on what genuinely concerns you. Focus on managing your responsibilities and leave others to theirs.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Avoid taking on responsibilities that belong to others. Overextending yourself by taking on others' burdens leads to unnecessary stress.</li></ul>

Avoid Unnecessary Suffering

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Let go of attachments to things beyond your control. Release your hold on things you can't influence to achieve peace.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">This detachment leads to peace and contentment. Inner tranquility comes from not being tied to external outcomes.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Pursue freedom and happiness by focusing on internal desires. True happiness is found in mastering your desires, not external possessions.</li></ul>

Detach from External Attachments

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Recognize the essence of things and people you cherish. Understand the true nature of your attachments to prepare for potential loss.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Accept their mortal nature to find inner strength. Accepting mortality helps build resilience against loss.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">This understanding helps cope with losses. Knowing the nature of things aids in handling inevitable changes and losses.</li></ul>

Embrace the Nature of Things

Understanding what we can and cannot control in life is essential for achieving peace, freedom, and happiness. This principle guides how we react to events and manage our desires and aversions.

Life's Missing Instruction Manual Epictetus (c. 50-135 CE) was brought as a slave to Rome, where he became a great teacher, deeply influencing the future emperor Marcus Aurelius among many others. His philosophy, Stoicism, was practical, not theoretical--aimed at relieving human suffering here and now. And Epictetus knew suffering. Besides being a former slave, he was lame in one leg and walked with a crutch. After a decade of teaching in Rome, he was banished by Emperor Domitian; undaunted, he established a school in Greece. The Manual is a collection of Epictetus' essential teachings and pithy sayings, compiled by his closet student. It is the most accessible and actionable guide to Stoic philosophy, as relevant today as it was in the Roman Empire. This new edition is rendered in contemporary English, with a foreword, by Sam Torode (based on a translation by Thomas Wentworth Higginson). Note: A revised and further simplified edition of this book is now available, The Manual: 21st Century Edition (ISBN B09HFXHCNP). Read the sample pages of each translation to see which you prefer.

CHARLES R. SWINDOLL

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