Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism.

In today’s Stoic Quotes episode, we explore a powerful teaching from Epictetus taken from the Handbook (Enchiridion), Section 4, a short, concentrated guide to Stoic practice.

“When you are about to undertake some action, remind yourself what sort of action it is.”
Epictetus, Handbook, 4

This simple instruction contains a profound Stoic discipline: prepare your mind before entering situations where frustration, irritation, or impatience are likely to arise. Epictetus uses the example of going to the public baths in ancient Rome, a chaotic place full of noise, crowds, and annoyances. His point is timeless: if you remember what you are stepping into, you won’t be surprised by what happens inside it.

What he’s really pointing to is the Stoic principle of prosochē, attentive presence. When you anticipate the nature of the situation, you protect your freedom of response. You remember that your task is not just to “take a bath,” or “drive a car,” or “stand in a queue,” but to keep your choices aligned with nature, meaning aligned with reason, patience, and virtue.

When you adopt this mindset, daily life becomes far less reactive. You stop wishing people were different and begin practicing who you want to be.

In practical terms, this teaching can help you:
• Reduce frustration in situations you already know will test you — driving, airports, crowded shops, delays.
• Take a brief mental pause before entering a task and ask, “What am I about to do — and who do I want to be while doing it?”
• Shift from reacting to others’ behavior toward fulfilling your own role with patience, calm, and steadiness.

By preparing your mind before the moment, you create space for virtue within the moment.

For more, check out this related article with quotes on how to take the right action:
https://viastoica.com/how-to-take-right-action-like-a-stoic/
And if you’re looking for more Stoic sayings, visit viastoica.com, where you’ll find hundreds of quotes with full references to the original texts:
https://viastoica.com/stoic-quotes
https://viastoica.com/marcus-aurelius-quotes
https://viastoica.com/epictetus-quotes
https://viastoica.com/seneca-quotes

Make sure to subscribe for more Stoic Quotes episodes every Friday, as well as our Tuesday interviews and longer discussions.

Support the show
https://viastoica.com
https://viastoica.com/stoic-life-coaching
https://viastoica.com/benny-voncken
https://x.com/ViaStoica
info@viastoica.com

Produced by: badmic.com

Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism.

In this episode, we explore the roots of Stoic thought through Donald Robertson’s new book, How to Think Like Socrates. Instead of beginning with Marcus Aurelius, we step back to the source, to a philosopher who shaped the very way the Stoics learned to think. Socrates invites us to examine our beliefs, question our assumptions, and approach life with clarity and honesty.

Listen to the full episode now and discover how the Socratic method can sharpen your thinking and deepen your Stoic practice.

Support the show
viastoica.com

viastoica.com/stoic-life-coaching

viastoica.com/benny-voncken

YouTube: @viastoica
info@viastoica.com

Produced by: badmic.com

Welcome to the Via Stoica Podcast, the podcast on Stoicism.

In today’s Stoic Quotes episode, we explore a powerful reflection from Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.1, a reminder of responsibility, harmony, and our place within the larger human community:

“No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative or hate him. We were born to work together, like feet, hands, and eyes; like two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural.”

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.1

Marcus opens with a simple but profound truth: the state of your character is yours alone. No one can force you to act without integrity. No one can push you into bitterness or moral compromise. The choice, the judgment, is always yours. And then he widens the frame: because we share the same nature, hurting others ultimately harms ourselves. Unity is our natural state; hostility is the obstruction.

This teaching points directly to two Stoic principles: responsibility for one’s own moral choices, and cosmopolitanism, the idea that we are all parts of one body. In modern language: you are accountable for the way you respond, and the people around you are not obstacles but fellow limbs of the same organism.

Epictetus says that nothing external can force your judgment. Seneca grounds responsibility in the integrity of one’s own soul. And Marcus constantly reminds himself that he is part of a larger whole.

Seen through the three Stoic disciplines, this passage becomes even clearer:

• Desire — letting go of the impulse to want people to be different from what they are.

• Assent — choosing not to accept impressions that provoke anger or hatred.

• Action — behaving in a way that supports the unity and well-being of the larger human community.

When you look at life this way, the quote becomes an invitation: protect your character, and treat others as parts of the same living structure.

Here are a few practical reflections for daily life:

• When someone behaves poorly, pause before reacting. Their action is theirs. Your judgment is yours.

• Choose responses that strengthen the connection rather than fracture it. Even a moment of patience is a step toward harmony.

• When tempted to blame others for your choices, remind yourself that accountability is freedom. You keep your integrity by owning your decisions.

For more, check out this article to learn how to Practice Stoicism: https://viastoica.com/how-to-practice-stoicism/

And if you’re looking for more Stoic sayings, visit viastoica.com, where you’ll find hundreds of quotes with full references to the original texts:

https://viastoica.com/stoic-quotes

https://viastoica.com/marcus-aurelius-quotes

https://viastoica.com/epictetus-quotes

https://viastoica.com/seneca-quotes

Make sure to subscribe for more Stoic Quotes episodes every Friday, as well as our Tuesday interviews and longer discussions.

Support the show

https://viastoica.com

https://viastoica.com/stoic-life-coaching

https://viastoica.com/benny-voncken

https://x.com/ViaStoicainfo@viastoica.com

Produced by: badmic.com