Epictetus Quotes

Welcome anything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.

If you were wise enough to know that this life would consist mostly of letting go of things you wanted, then why not get good at the letting go, rather than the trying to have?

Surrender becomes so much easier when you realize the fleeting nature of all experiences and that the world cannot give you anything of lasting value. You then continue to meet people, to be involved in experience and activities, but without the wants and fears of the egoic self. That is to say, you no longer demand that a situation, person, place, or event should satisfy you or make you happy. It's passing and imperfect nature is allowed to be.

When you learn not to want things so badly, life comes to you.

Accept what comes to you totally & completely so that you can appreciate it, learn from it & then let it go.

Perhaps this was the secret to being at peace: want nothing but what is given to you.

I can't be smug, because I know that you can lose anything at any point. And I can't be angry, because I haven't lost it.

To remember non-attachment is to remember what freedom is all about. If we get attached, even to a beautiful state of being, we are caught, and ultimately we will suffer. We work to observe anything that comes our way, experience it while it is here, and be able to let go of it.

Surrender to life itself and you'll just be rewarded with so many things. And I've been rewarded so many times, in so many mysterious ways. So I have no reason to be disappointed with anything.

Enjoy doing nothing, and you can enjoy doing anything. Enjoy having nothing, and you can enjoy whatever you have.

The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring. And that is not happiness.

Be content to be what you are, and prefer nothing to it, and do not fear or wish for your last day.

Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee.

You can't ever get everything you want. It is impossible. Luckily, there is another option: You can learn to control your mind, to step outside of the endless cycle of desire and aversion.

I'm just dealing with what's happening, with what is. Joy, happiness, good, bad, all those terms are meaningless to me.

I am happy with what comes, I don't have expectations of any stature.

My motto is never to hold on to anything. I accept and then let go: not just the negatives, but the praise, too. Or it'll get to my head.

No expectations. Ask nothing, expect nothing and accept everything, and life is very well.

Joyful let the soul be in the present, let it disdain to trouble about what is beyond and temper bitterness with a laugh. Nothing is blessed forever.

A thought experiment courtesy of the Stoics. If you are tired of everything you possess, imagine that you have lost all these things.

When you drop your expectations that a person, a situation, a place, or an object should fulfill you, it's easier to be present in this moment because you're no longer looking to the next one. Most people want to get what they want, whereas the secret is to want what you get at this moment.

What I want is not to want what isn't mine

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea.

I've been really aware of how important it is to me to just stay in the moment and enjoy it while it lasts. Because that's all you've got. If it ends, I'll move on to doing something else. If it lasts, great.

I really - I try not to look ahead too far into the future and really just appreciate the here and now.