Such a compact book of great thoughts, simple, yet not simplistic.The ideas on freedom of a man who was born as a slave, make so much sense even after 2000 years - it gives me goosebumps to think about it.Epictetus’ vision on how to be cool will never go out of fashion :)P.S. The intro could be skipped while reading in my opinion, it makes almost half of the book.

How to be Free is an Ancient Guide to the Stoic life and comprises The Encheiridion and selections from The Discourses. Epictetus was born a slave and lived from 55AD to 135AD. This Roman Stoic philosopher taught that mental freedom is supreme, since it can liberate you anywhere, even in prison. Freedom for Epictetus is a psychological achievement, a gift that we alone can bestow on ourselves, by assigning value to what we can control and treating what we can't control with equanimity.Wherever I...

Great introduction to Stoic philosophy. The 'Stoic way of life' is something to strive towards, because it is incredibly difficult to achieve that level of control over one's mind. Here are few things that I took away from the book:1. Distinguish things under your control vs not: Whenever faced with a situation, ask yourself whether it is/was under your control or not. If it wasn't, do not dwell over it. (critical lens: If the principal question of stoic Philosophy is weather something is in our...

I try to read most translations of Epictetus as I come across them, just in case a difference in word choice exposes meaning I hadn't gleaned before or resonates in a new way.

Epictetus’ view of happiness as mental tranquility discounts bodily and emotional pleasures.

+ stoicism is a good philosophy for thwarted plans, but not the best for making plans in the first place. it stands too closely to apathy. + stoicism is faith-based (“this is as it was meant to be”) whereas an agnostic approach seems more... solid/humble/rational (“who's to say this is not what was meant to be”)+ the stoic idea that some things are up to us while others are not and best to fret only about that which is up to us...is a useful philosophy but i imagine most ppl have no clarity of w...

To be alive in modern times is to exist - so abstracted and distant from the self - that it would be easy to go your whole life without even considering that your thoughts and actions are not your own. The ancient wisdoms in this handbook serve as a reminder that everything is immaterial but your will, and where you place it. Unlike any religious text, it contains no mysticism, no fables; just pure logic. It's truly humbling to read this and know that, at its core, what it truly means to be huma...

For any "original" thought you may have had in your life, you need to realize that some Greek guy had already had the same one, spent years contemplating it, made a conclusion, developed a whole theory around it and then wrote it down, sending it downstream all the way to the 21st century. So it is with Epictetus. I'm kind of a Stoicism junkie, so no surprise I loved this tiny book. It never ceases to amaze me how much of this 2,000 year old philosophy is still part of our daily lives. Case in p...

This book contains so many golden nuggets of wisdom! In ancient Greece, 2000 years ago, a former slave named Epictetus understood what it truly means to be free, and he became a philosopher and turned those ideas into this book. And here I am thousands of years later reading his ideas to learn how to free my own mind. Although he heavily advocated non-judgment, he did have quite a lot of rigid rules as to how one should live their life. But that can be easily overlooked because of how much I lov...

I’m intrigued.

OH NO! website crashed just as I was submitting my 500 words rant about how horrible the "Stoicism Self-Help" brand is! Basically: - the book got a 2/5 bc the translation was bad :( - I angrily shake my fist at "Stoic Self-Help" trend popular amongst whyte men (who also usually idolize Caesar and Roman Legionary) - imo stoicism is a fabulous philosophy to sit quietly and ruminate upon, not to preached loudly or adopted into the "grind mindset" . - This being published in a series titled "How to

Stoic to the core I am but my oh my I could not finish this audiobook. Verbiage overkill.

The only thing you have is your will and your point of view, everything else are things that you have no control over.Think of life being a dinner table and bread is being passed. the graceful thing to do is to take what is offered and to not hold to the bread basket when it's being taken away. Your loved ones, your health, your properties are all materials that are passed to you like bread on a dinner table. بملء إرادتي وبملء بأسي عصيتُ بعالم الشهَوات نفسيوعصياني لها رضوانُ ربي وعزّة حاضري وغدي...

Listening to the audiobook wasn't a pleasant experience, almost half the book was a torture, but thankfully it got better and even enjoyed it. Overall it was an acceptable overview of The Enchiridion ( Handbook) of Epictetus which is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice.

I first read about Epictetus from the book "The Practicing Stoic". Of course, Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher. Epictetus started out his life as a slave, only becoming free later, so his thoughts on freedom have a certain authenticity and weight to them. His basic advice is that freedom comes from conforming one's happiness to what one controls and not allowing one's happiness to be dictated by what one does not control. If our happiness relies on an office, or money that someone else controls...

Although the cover and title is a bit cheesy, this book is essentially a Loeb Classical Library edition dressed up to look like pop philosophy. This is a complete and new translation of The Encheiridion and some selections from Discourses. The original Greek is on the left, the corresponding translation on the right.For a 2,000 year old text, the simply stated ideas in it feel fresh and direct in a modern way. Its influences are felt today from the Serenity Prayer to cognitive behavioral therapy...

Simple, short and enlightening for fellow Stoic travellers!

definitely a book which I’m gonna need to come back to and read a few more times I remember these lines standing out to me: “If someone in the street were entrusted with your body, you would be furious. Yet you entrust your mind to anyone around who happens to insult you, and allow it to be troubled and confused. Aren’t you ashamed of that?”

I like how Epictetus isn't one for gentle speeches (compassionate, yes) . I've felt at times guilty while reading the book, knowing that he's caught be with the cat in the bag for many things.

This book did such a fantastic job explaining the basics of stoicism. I am coming away with a strong understanding of the school of thought, and lessons / practices I will carry long with me. The book is so small, and the space was used very effectively - I felt like every sentence was necessary and important. It was also in a very accessible format, something that is often lost in a lot of philosophy text. I’m thrilled my first book of ‘22 was such a great read.