Stoic Quote: Epictetus on Preparing Your Mind Before You Act

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

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