Stoic Morning Affirmations: The Dichotomy Of Control

The first line of Epictetus's Enchiridion, the small handbook compiled from his teaching by his student Arrian, is this: some things are up to us, and some things are not. Epictetus thought everything else flowed from that one distinction. Most of the suffering in our lives, he argued, comes from getting it wrong.

This is a short morning practice built around that distinction. Six steady reminders, a mix of close translations and Stoic formulations in modern English, with a little silence between each, and one specific commitment for the day ahead.

Useful first thing, before the inbox, before the news, before the meeting you've been dreading. The point is not to control more. It is to spend your effort on the right things.

Transcript

Good morning. Settle. Feet on the floor. Hands resting. Notice the weight of your body, The temperature of the air. The sounds at the edge of the room. There is a line at the very start of Epictetus' Enchiridion, The handbook of his teaching. Later compiled by his student Arian. It is one of the most consequential sentences in western philosophy and it is six words long. Some things are up to us, And some things are not. Epictetus thought everything else flowed from that one distinction. Most of the suffering in our lives, He argued, Comes from getting it wrong, From spending our effort on things we cannot control and neglecting the things we can. So we'll spend the next 10 minutes recollecting which is which. Six lines, One quiet plan. Three slow breaths, In for four. . . Out for sex. Again and again. And out. One more. And out. Whatever is on your mind right now. Let's hold it lightly. For a few minutes, We'll come back to it. One, The Foundation. Some things are up to me and some things are not. What is up to me, What I think, What I value, What I choose, What I do. What is not? Almost everything else. The weather. Other people? My body, Eventually. The past, The outcome of things. Also from Appetitus. It is not events that disturb me but my judgments about them. Event arrives unbidden. The judgment that the event is good or bad or worse than I can bear, The judgment is mine. Mind question. From Marcus Aurelius. If a thing is in my power, Why act as though it weren't? If it isn't, Why complain? If I can do something about it. . . I'll do something. If I can't, Complaining changes nothing. Apectetus again, 3rd betim this time. Never say of anything, I have lost it. Say, I have returned it. My reputation, My possessions, My standing, Even the people I love. Epictetus would say, I never owned these, I had them on loan, Which makes losing them less of a violation and more of a returning. 5. A stoic commitment for today. Today I will spend no effort on what is not mine to control. Not no thought, But effort. Most of what we waste isn't thinking, It's trying. 6. And the closing line. A stoic formulation. What is up to me today is enough. Now, One short rehearsal. Bring to mind one thing that's been bothering you. What part of this is actually up to you? And what part is not. You don't have to solve the bothering part. Just notice the line. And then, One quiet plan. For the part that is up to you, If the thing happens then I will. One sentence. Keep it. And that's the practice. Six lines, One rehearsal, One plan. You will not control more of the world by doing this. You will spend your effort on the right things, Which, Epictetus taught, Was the only freedom worth the name. One slow breath in. And out. Notice the weight of your hands. The room around you. And go gently. And if this practice helped, Please leave a rating. It helps other listeners find the track. And return tomorrow, The dichotomy gets sharper with daily use. Thanks for practicing with me.