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Introducing

The Pursuit of Balance Podcast

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The Mindful Stoic YouTube channel

Watch our deep-dive videos, listenable versions of

our articles, and dozens of short book summaries.

Click here to watch on YouTube

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Introducing

The Pursuit of Balance Podcast

Click here for a free trial

The Mindful Stoic YouTube channel

Watch our deep-dive videos,

listenable versions of our articles,

and dozens of short book summaries.

Click here to watch on YouTube

We hope you enjoy this curated collection of quotes on Stoicism. We selected these Stoicism quotes because they express core concepts of not just the philosophy of Stoicism, but also of its practical application in everyday life.

Epictetus quotes on Stoicism

“Do not wish that all things will go well with you, but that you will go well with all things.”

― Epictetus, The Manual: A Philosopher’s Guide To Life

Epictetus quotes on Stoicism

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”

― Epictetus, The Manual: A Philosopher’s Guide To Life

Epictetus quote: “Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”

“People are not disturbed by things themselves, but by the views they take of those things. People who are ignorant of philosophy blame others for their misfortunes. Those who are beginning to learn philosophy blame themselves. Those who have mastered philosophy blame no one.”

― Epictetus, The Manual: A Philosopher’s Guide To Life

Epictetus quote on blame

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will. ”

― Epictetus

Epictetus quote on the dichotomy of control

“Whenever a challenge arises, turn inward and ask what power you can exercise in this situation. If you meet temptation, use self-control. If you meet pain, use fortitude. If you meet revulsion, use patience.”

― Epictetus, The Manual: A Philosopher’s Guide To Life

Epictetus quote on circumstances

“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.”

― Epictetus

Epictetus quote: Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.

“Desire demands the attainment of that which you desire, and aversion demands the avoidance of that which you dislike. End the habit of despising things that are not within your power, and apply your aversion to things that are within your power.”

― Epictetus, The Manual: A Philosopher’s Guide To Life

Epictetus quote on desire

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”

― Epictetus

Epictetus quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.”

― Epictetus, The Manual: A Philosopher’s Guide To Life

Epictetus quote: If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.

Seneca quotes on Stoicism

“As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”

― Seneca

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”

― Seneca

Seneca quote: Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.

“You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.”

― Seneca

Seneca quote: You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.

“If you live in harmony with nature you will never be poor; if you live according what others think, you will never be rich.”

― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic

Seneca Stoicism quote

“Nothing is burdensome if taken lightly, and nothing need arouse one’s irritation so long as one doesn’t make it bigger than it is by getting irritated.”

― Seneca, Letters From A Stoic

Seneca quote: Nothing is burdensome if taken lightly, and nothing need arouse one's irritation so long as one doesn't make it bigger than it is by getting irritated.

“We do not receive a short life, but we make it a short one, and we are not poor in days, but wasteful of them.”

― Seneca, On The Shortness Of Life

Seneca quote: We do not receive a short life, but we make it a short one, and we are not poor in days, but wasteful of them.

“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

― Seneca

Seneca quote: We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.

“To be always fortunate, and to pass through life with a soul that has never known sorrow, is to be ignorant of one half of nature.”

― Seneca

Seneca quote on sorrow

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”

― Seneca

Seneca quote: Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.

“No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself.”

― Seneca

Seneca quote: No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself.

Marcus Aurelius quotes on Stoicism

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.”

― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Marcus Aurelius quote: The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.

“Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?”

― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Marcus Aurelius quote: Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?

“You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Marcus Aurelius quote: You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love …”

― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Marcus Aurelius quote: When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”

― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Marcus Aurelius quote: Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.

Check out our Books page for a curated collection of recommended books on mindfulness, Stoicism, and personal growth.

How To Focus by Thich Nhat Hanh
Discipline Is Destiny by Ryan Holiday
Books on mindfulness and stoicism by Sarah Shaw