--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some things are up to us [eph' hêmin] and…" description: "\"Some things are up to us [eph' hêmin] and some things are not up to us. Our opinions are up to us, and our impulses, desires, aversions–in short, whate..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/epictetus-413_aversion_some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-s_162002.jpg" --- # Some things are up to us \[eph' hêmin\] and some things are… ![“Some things are up to us [eph' hêmin] and some things are not up to us. Our opinions are up to us, and our impulses, desires, aversions–in short, whatever is our own doing. Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, or our public offices, or, that is, whatever is not…” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/epictetus-413_aversion_some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-s_162002.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/epictetus-413_aversion_some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-s_162002.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/epictetus-413_aversion_some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-s_162002.jpg) > “Some things are up to us \[eph' hêmin\] and some things are not up to us. Our opinions are up to us, and our impulses, desires, aversions–in short, whatever is our own doing. Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, or our public offices, or, that is, whatever is not our own doing.” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It distinguishes between what we can control—our thoughts, desires, and actions—and what lies outside our control, such as our bodies, possessions, and social status. **In simple terms:** Focus on inner choices, not external circumstances. Key Takeaway Cultivate control over mind and actions. Themes control philosophy stoicism Mood reflective calm Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal decision making - stress management - ethical leadership Key Concepts agency determinism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you separate controllable from uncontrollable in daily life? - What habits help maintain focus on inner agency? A Different Perspective External factors can still heavily influence outcomes despite personal control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) [Bodies Possessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bodies-possessions-1774092/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opinions Impulses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinions-impulses-635067/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Possessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possessions/) [Public office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-office/) [Reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputation/) [Things Eph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-eph-1774091/) [Things Opinions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-opinions-1627974/) ## Related quotes > [“Some people are wish-blocked, knowing neither what they feel nor what they want. Without opinions, without impulses, without inclinations, they become parasites on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/some-people-are-wish-blocked-knowing-neither-what-they-feel-nor-what/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [We are not our bodies, our possessions, or our careers. Who we are is DIVINE LOVE and that is INFINITE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/we-are-not-our-bodies-our-possessions-or-our-careers-who-we-are-is/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [What disturbs and alarms man are not the things, but his opinions and fancies about the things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-disturbs-and-alarms-man-are-not-the-things-but-his-opinions-and/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Not things, but opinions about things, trouble men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/not-things-but-opinions-about-things-trouble-men/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“The Greek philosopher Epictetus recognised this two thousand years ago when he wrote: ‘What disturbs and alarms man are not the things but his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/the-greek-philosopher-epictetus-recognised-this-two-thousand-years/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [It is not things, but opinions about things that have absolutely no existence, which have so deranged mankind!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-not-things-but-opinions-about-things-that-have-absolutely-no/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [What on earth have a man's name, degree, academic position, and of all things, opinions, to do with whether a thing is true?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/what-on-earth-have-a-man-s-name-degree-academic-position-and-of-all/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [You can say a lot of things about me, but I own my own opinions. They're not for sale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-perkins/you-can-say-a-lot-of-things-about-me-but-i-own-my-own-opinions-they/) [Sue Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-perkins/) > [Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/some-things-are-in-our-control-and-others-not-things-in-our-control-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If America is to survive, we must elect more God-centered men and women to public office; individuals who will seek Divine guidance in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/if-america-is-to-survive-we-must-elect-more-god-centered-men-and/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [To get your name well enough known that you can run for a public office, some people do it by being great lawyers or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glenn/to-get-your-name-well-enough-known-that-you-can-run-for-a-public/) [John Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-glenn/) > [The United States Constitution is clear. It prohibits religious tests for public office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/the-united-states-constitution-is-clear-it-prohibits-religious-tests/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [No man should be in public office who can't make more money in private life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-man-should-be-in-public-office-who-can-t-make-more-money-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a virtuous government, and more especially in times like these, public offices are what they should be - burdens to those appointed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-a-virtuous-government-and-more-especially-in-times-like-these/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [No one in this world, so far as I know--and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me--has ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/no-one-in-this-world-so-far-as-i-know-and-i-have-searched-the-records/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/you-know-yourself-what-you-are-worth-in-your-own-eyes-and-at-what/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/for-it-is-not-death-or-pain-that-is-to-be-feared-but-the-fear-of-pain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-else-can-i-do-a-lame-old-man-but-sing-hymns-to-god-if-i-were-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/small-minded-people-blame-others-average-people-blame-themselves-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Explore all 577 Epictetus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More Aversion quotes > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The scorn men express for a male who does housework is exceeded only by their aversion to a woman who doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-kome/the-scorn-men-express-for-a-male-who-does-housework-is-exceeded-only/) [Penny Kome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-kome/) > [One of the greatest inhibitions to the development of human potential is the aversion to effective practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-b-reeves/one-of-the-greatest-inhibitions-to-the-development-of-human-potential/) [Douglas B. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-b-reeves/) > [Value investing is risk aversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-risk-aversion/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We must each learn to feel comfortable in our own uniqueness by rising above the fear of being wrong and the aversion to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/we-must-each-learn-to-feel-comfortable-in-our-own-uniqueness-by/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Most people have an aversion to risk, my college economics professor told me. Which means they have to be rewarded to take on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-people-have-an-aversion-to-risk-my-college-economics-professor/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Some people have a very strange idea that material success does not coincide harmoniously with self-realization, which is absurd. The aversion to material success,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/some-people-have-a-very-strange-idea-that-material-success-does-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Usually I just let my songs do the talking. As a matter of fact I have long had an aversion to celebrities endorsing politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fogerty/usually-i-just-let-my-songs-do-the-talking-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-have/) [John Fogerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fogerty/) > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [It is a happy thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion. I had left this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-a-happy-thing-that-time-quells-the-longings-of-vengeance-and/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“For a long time now a hint of aversion had lain on everything he did and experienced, a shadow of impotence and loneliness, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-a-long-time-now-a-hint-of-aversion-had-lain-on-everything-he-did/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [In Tantric Buddhism our feeling is that there is no problem with the sensual world unless you have a tremendous attraction or aversion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-tantric-buddhism-our-feeling-is-that-there-is-no-problem-with-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Browse all 266 Aversion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some things are up to us [eph' hêmin] and some things are not up to us. Our opinions are up to us, and our impulses, desires, aversions–in short, whatever is our own doing. Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, or our public offices, or, that is, whatever is not our own doing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Epictetus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-some-things-are-not-up-to-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aversion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-some-things-are-not-up-to-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/epictetus-413_aversion_some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-s_162002.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/epictetus-413_aversion_some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-s_162002.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/epictetus-413_aversion_some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-s_162002.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some things are up to us [eph' hêmin] and some things are not up to us. Our opinions are up to us, and our…” — Epictetus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Epictetus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Some things are up to us...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-some-things-are-not-up-to-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/some-things-are-up-to-us-eph-h-min-and-some-things-are-not-up-to-us/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```