S

February    21st

WISH    NOT,    WANT    NOT

“Remember   that    it’s    not only    the desire  for wealth  and position    that    debases and subjugates  us,

but also    the desire  for peace,  leisure,    travel, and learning.   It  doesn’t matter  what    the external

thing   is, the value   we  place   on  it  subjugates  us  to  another .   .   .   where   our heart   is  set,    there   our

impediment  lies.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.4.1–2;     15

urely, Epictetus isn’t saying that peace, leisure, travel, and learning are bad, is he? Thankfully, no.
But ceaseless, ardent desire—if not bad in and of itself—is fraught with potential complications.
What we desire makes us vulnerable. Whether it’s an opportunity to travel the world or to be the
president or for five minutes of peace and quiet, when we pine for something, when we hope against
hope, we set ourselves up for disappointment. Because fate can always intervene and then we’ll likely
lose our self-control in response.
As Diogenes, the famous Cynic, once said, “It is the privilege of the gods to want nothing, and of
godlike men to want little.” To want nothing makes one invincible—because nothing lies outside your
control. This doesn’t just go for not wanting the easy-to-criticize things like wealth or fame—the kinds of
folly that we see illustrated in some of our most classic plays and fables. That green light that Gatsby
strove for can represent seemingly good things too, like love or a noble cause. But it can wreck someone
all the same.
When it comes to your goals and the things you strive for, ask yourself: Am I in control of them or
they in control of me?