The Reason Why We Can't Control Everything

The Dichotomy of ControlShow more

Perhaps one of the most useful concepts in Stoicism is the ‘Dichotomy of Control’. This basically guides us into exerting our energy and focus on things which we actually have control over. To use this we must first learn to determine the things in which don’t have control over.
In the opening lines of Epictetus’s handbook the Enchiridion, the stoic says:

“Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our actions.”

Epictetus is basically reminding us about where we should focus our energy, a lesson I wish I had learned earlier in life.