Previous Stoicism

EVERLASTING GOOD HEALTH

“I tell you, you only have to learn to live like the healthy person does… living with complete confidence. What confidence? The only one worth holding, in what is trustworthy, unhindered, and can’t be taken away—your own reasoned choice.”

- EPICTUS, DISCOURSES

Summary

Epictetus urges us to live like a healthy person by cultivating complete confidence in our ability to make rational and virtuous choices. This confidence is rooted in what cannot be hindered or taken away—our reasoned decision-making and moral character.

Interpretation

In real life, this means focusing on what is truly within our control: our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. For readers of The Daily Stoic, this serves as a reminder that external circumstances, such as wealth, status, or others’ opinions, are unreliable foundations for confidence. Instead, by aligning our choices with reason and virtue, we create a sense of security that is unshakable, no matter what life throws at us.

 

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