What Is in Our Control
Written by Studio AM.
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The Stoic philosopher Epictetus distinguished what depends on our own judgment and choice from what does not depend on us alone. Weather, reputation and the outcomes of plans belong to the second group. In his account, a central task is to examine our responses rather than demand certainty about events outside our power.
Consider a traveler whose ship is delayed by a storm. The traveler cannot make the sea calm, but may decide how to use the wait or whether to seek another route. An athlete can prepare carefully and compete fairly, yet an opponent's performance and an injury may still affect the result. Effort can influence an outcome without guaranteeing it.
This is not a recipe for passivity. Preparing for a contest or arranging another journey can require vigorous action. The distinction concerns the difference between making a choice and securing everything that follows from it. A disappointing result does not by itself show that every earlier choice was mistaken.
For a modern reader, the idea offers a question rather than an instant solution: what useful action is available now? A person might review a decision, ask for help or change a plan. They can still care about the result while recognizing that it is not entirely theirs to determine. The aim is a more deliberate response to uncertainty, not the expectation that worry will disappear on command.
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Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
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Question 1 of 4
What is the passage mainly about?
The answer is A: Distinguish useful choices from outcomes that are not entirely ours to determine.
The examples separate choices from guaranteed results, and the ending asks what useful action remains available.
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Question 2 of 4
In the passage's account of Epictetus, which belongs with what depends on us?
The answer is C: Our own judgments and choices
The opening associates judgment and choice with what depends on us, and contrasts these with weather, reputation and outcomes.
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Question 3 of 4
The examples of the traveler and the athlete are meant to show that we control:
The answer is A: Useful choices can influence results without guaranteeing them.
The athlete can prepare and the traveler can make decisions, but neither controls every condition affecting the result.
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Question 4 of 4
What does 'passivity' mean in this passage?
The answer is A: inaction and doing nothing
The next sentence describes preparation and arrangements requiring vigorous action, contrasting this with passivity.
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