Quotes about Control

On the occasion of every accident (event) that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use.

Philosophy does not claim to secure for us anything outside our control. Otherwise it would be taking on matters that do not concern it. For as wood is the material of the carpenter, and marble that of the sculptor, so the subject matter of the art of life is the life of the self.

First to those universal principles I have spoken of: these you must keep at command, and without them neither sleep nor rise, drink nor eat nor deal with men: the principle that no one can control another's will, and that the will alone is the sphere of good and evil.

Do your best to rein in your desire. For if you desire something that isn't within your own control, disappointment will surely follow; meanwhile, you will be neglecting the very things that are within your control that are worthy of desire.

Can we avoid people? How is that possible? And if we associate with them, can we change them? Who gives us that power?

Let man be pleased with whatever has pleased God; let him marvel at himself and his own resources for this very reason, that he cannot be overcome, that he has the very powers of evil subject to his control, and that he brings into subjection chance and pain and wrong by means of that strongest of powers — reason. Love reason! The love of reason will arm you against the greatest hardships.

End the habit of despising things that are not within your power

You cannot choose the era, nationality, family, and body into which you are born. But to act well in your given role—this is your sphere of power.

If you make peace with all things that are beyond your power, refusing to fight them, you will be invincible.

You do not seem to realize that the mind is subject only to itself. It alone can control it, which shows the force and justice of God's edict: the strong shall always prevail over the weak.

If you wish to have peace and contentment, release your attachment to all things outside your control. This is the path of freedom and happiness. If you want not just peace and contentment, but power and wealth too, you may forfeit the former in seeking the latter, and will lose your freedom and happiness along the way.

Beware of the man who wants to protect you; he will protect you from everything but himself