You Only Have Power Over Some Things (The Enchiridion — Part 2)
As I wrote in my previous article in the Enchiridion series, I am going to be starting to break down Epictetus’ work and discussing how we can use it to live a more meaningful and virtuous life.
Section I reads as follows:
Of things, some are in our power, and others are not. In our power are opinion, movement towards a thing, desire, aversion, turning from a thing; and in a word, whatever are our actions.
Not in our power are the body, property, reputation, offices, and in a word, whatever are not our actions.
And the things in our power are by nature free, not subject to restraint or hindrance; but the things not in our power are weak, slavish, subject to restrain, in the power of others. Remember then, that if you think the things which are by nature, slavish, to be free, and the things which are in our power of others to be your own, you will be hindered, you will lament, you will be disturbed, you will blame both gods and men;
But if you think that only which is in your own to be your own, and if you think that what is another’s, as it really is, belongs to another, no man will ever compel you, no man will hinder you. You will never blame any man, you will accuse no man, you will do nothing involuntarily (against) your will, no man will harm, you will have no enemy, for you will not suffer any harm.
If then you desire (or aim at) such great things, remember that you must not attempt to lay hold of them with small effort; but you must leave alone some things entirely, and postpone others for the present.
But if you wish for these things also, such great things, and power and wealth, perhaps you will not gain these very things because you aim at also those former things; certainly you will fail in those things through which alone happiness and freedom are secured.
Straightaway then, practice saying to every harsh appearance: ‘[y]ou’re an appearance, and in no manner what you appear to be. Then examine it by the rules which you possess, and by this firstly and chiefly, whether it relates to the things which are in our power or to things which aren’t in our power; and if it relates to anything which is not in our power, be ready to say that it does not concern you.
That was a lot to read (and type, haha!). Let’s break this down and see what Epictetus is trying to say.
Section I — First Half
In the first half of the section, we see Epictetus discuss the dichotomy of control — what is and isn’t in our control. Summed up, the things in our control are our perceptions, choices, and actions. Anything that doesn’t fall under these three things are not under our control.
Next, the things we can control aren’t restrained by others. They have no power over our perceptions, choices, or actions. And what is outside of our control is naturally restrained by others — we can’t control those things.
If we try and control the uncontrollable, we’ll be unhappy, unbalanced, and unreasonably blaming others. If we choose to control what only we can control, we’ll find that we’ll be able to do what we want and live a more balanced life.
Section I — Second Half
In the second half of the section, we can see Epictetus mention a certain notion of living with what is enough. We have to make a choice. If we choose to follow the path of accepting what is and isn’t in our control, we’re going to have to work for it.
It’s not going to be easy. In our pursuit of the self-development goal, we’ll have to stop doing certain things and work on them at a later point, or even just dropping them permanently. This path may end up having you not pursuing ideals such as power and wealth. But it’s at that point that you have to decide what is and isn’t enough.
It’s often in the pursuit of such goals with roots in the uncontrollable that we miss the mark of our target of acceptance of what we can and can’t control. It’s important to remember that externals aren’t permanently guaranteed to you. We can be rich and powerful one day and powerless and destitute the next. We have to be willing to say that “external things such as power and money aren’t in my control.” From there, you can truly start to find balance and live a meaningful life.
Section I — Final
In the final part of the section, Epictetus notes how we should be prepared to acknowledge that things outside of our control are not our concern. What this means is that things such as controlling others shouldn’t be our focus.
As a personal example, for a while, I worked hard to take responsibility for myself and my actions. Where I often fall short, however, is when other people don’t do the same for themselves. I’ll look at them and think, “I’m doing my best to do the right thing, why can’t you?!”
In thinking that, I am no longer taking responsibility for myself. Instead, I’m trying to control others. Like Epictetus says, though, this isn’t possible.
To help this, I’ve switched my thinking to have the attitude of “they may not be taking responsibility for themselves, but I need to for myself. Out of this situation, that’s all I can truly expect.”
The only thing we truly have control over in this life is ourselves. It’s our responsibility and duty to ensure that we are acting and conducting ourselves in a way that is harmonious to ourselves and the world around us. In doing so, we can be better able to ensure that our lives and the areas that we and other people interact in are better and more harmonious.
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