--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Within our control are our own opinions…" description: "\"Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, and desires and the demons that distract us from these goals. Outside of our control are such thi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/epictetus-413_aspiration_within-our-control-are-our-own-opinions_2573409.jpg" --- # Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, and… ![“Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, and desires and the demons that distract us from these goals. Outside of our control are such things as what kind of body we have, whether or not we are born into wealth, and how we are regarded by others.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/epictetus-413_aspiration_within-our-control-are-our-own-opinions_2573409.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/epictetus-413_aspiration_within-our-control-are-our-own-opinions_2573409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/epictetus-413_aspiration_within-our-control-are-our-own-opinions_2573409.jpg) > “Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, and desires and the demons that distract us from these goals. Outside of our control are such things as what kind of body we have, whether or not we are born into wealth, and how we are regarded by others.” [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. We can control our internal states and goals, but not external circumstances like wealth or appearance. **In simple terms:** Control thoughts and desires, not external factors. Key Takeaway Focus on inner mastery. Themes self‑control philosophy stoicism Mood reflective calm Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal growth - career planning - relationship management - financial decisions Key Concepts internal vs external agency mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish what you can change from what you must accept? - What habits help you stay centered amid external pressures? A Different Perspective External factors can still heavily influence outcomes despite inner control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/) [Aspirations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspirations/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Demon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demon/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [Learn to distinguish what you can and can't control. Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, desires and the things that repel us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/learn-to-distinguish-what-you-can-and-can-t-control-within-our/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“As humans we are inclined to feel that life must have a point. We have plans and aspirations and desires. We want to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-humans-we-are-inclined-to-feel-that-life-must-have-a-point-we-have/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [No more fatuous chimera has ever infested the brain than that you can control opinions by law or direct belief by statute, and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-borah/no-more-fatuous-chimera-has-ever-infested-the-brain-than-that-you-can/) [William Borah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-borah/) > [You can be happy if you know this secret: Some things are within your power to control and some things are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/you-can-be-happy-if-you-know-this-secret-some-things-are-within-your/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/happiness-and-freedom-begin-with-a-clear-understanding-of-one-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Freedom and happiness come from understanding - and working with - our limits. Begin at once a program of self-mastery. Stick with your purpose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/freedom-and-happiness-come-from-understanding-and-working-with-our/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [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/) > [The wise realize that some things are within their control, and most things are not. They learn early on to distinguish between what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/the-wise-realize-that-some-things-are-within-their-control-and-most/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If you think you control things that are in the control of others, you will lament. You will be disturbed and you will blame…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-think-you-control-things-that-are-in-the-control-of-others-you/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“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/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [My designs and labors and aspirations are my only friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/my-designs-and-labors-and-aspirations-are-my-only-friends/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [People would do well to ask themselves how many of their ambitions and aspirations derive from the type of economic system they inhabit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/people-would-do-well-to-ask-themselves-how-many-of-their-ambitions/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to extraordinary success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/the-most-absurd-and-reckless-aspirations-have-sometimes-led-to/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [Every little kid that steps on the court or the field has aspirations to go pro. I think being a pro basketball player is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcknight/every-little-kid-that-steps-on-the-court-or-the-field-has-aspirations/) [Brian McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcknight/) > [The powers, aspirations, and mission of man are such as to raise the study of his origin and nature, inevitably and by the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-powers-aspirations-and-mission-of-man-are-such-as-to-raise-the/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) ## 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 Aspiration quotes > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-were-all-children-once-and-we-all-share-the-desire-for-the-well/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Noise has taken the place of punk rock. People who play noise have no real aspirations to being part of the mainstream culture. Punk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-moore/noise-has-taken-the-place-of-punk-rock-people-who-play-noise-have-no/) [Thurston Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-moore/) > [“A responsible woman doesn’t see opportunities and needs and look the other way pretending not to see them rather she gets to work to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agu-jaachynma-n-e/a-responsible-woman-doesn-t-see-opportunities-and-needs-and-look-the/) [Agu Jaachynma N.E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agu-jaachynma-n-e/) > [Our task today is to bring India to the threshold of the twenty-first century, free of burden of poverty, legacy of our colonial past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-gandhi/our-task-today-is-to-bring-india-to-the-threshold-of-the-twenty-first/) [Rajiv Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajiv-gandhi/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [“Don't die without fulfilling your purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/don-t-die-without-fulfilling-your-purpose/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“Eschew evil and it's machinations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/eschew-evil-and-it-s-machinations/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You boys know what tropism is, it's what makes a plant grow toward the light. Everything aspires to the light. You don't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/you-boys-know-what-tropism-is-it-s-what-makes-a-plant-grow-toward-the/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [The world of rumor and gossip is like a privileged world with which a social scientist or an anthropologist can take the temperature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-scott/the-world-of-rumor-and-gossip-is-like-a-privileged-world-with-which-a/) [James C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-scott/) > [“Don't let any situation intimidate you anymore, don't accept defeat anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/don-t-let-any-situation-intimidate-you-anymore-don-t-accept-defeat/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [The most important part of our lives-our sensations, emotions, desires, and aspirations-takes place in a universe of illusions which science can attenuate or destroy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/the-most-important-part-of-our-lives-our-sensations-emotions-desires/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) [Browse all 1,137 Aspiration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, and desires and the demons that distract us from these goals. 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