how to understand Dichotomy of Control

Key Takeaway: The foundational Stoic distinction: some things are up to us (our judgments, choices, desires, aversions, and actions), while others are not (the body, property, reputation, and offices).

The foundational Stoic distinction: some things are up to us (our judgments, choices, desires, aversions, and actions), while others are not (the body, property, reputation, and offices). Epictetus uses it to locate responsibility in the quality of judgment and choice rather than in external results. • Freedom begins with what is truly yours. • Even difficulty can become material for virtue. • Authority is tested by restraint.

As the Stoic philosophers — particularly Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations and Seneca in his Letters — wrote, The foundational Stoic distinction: some things are up to us (our judgments, choices, desires, aversions, and actions), while others are not (the body, property, reputation, and offices).

— Oriens

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