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They Can Throw You In Chains, But…
Focusing on the Daily Stoic Meditation for September 6 — They Can Throw You In Chains, But…, as outlined by Ryan Holiday in the bestseller 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance and the Art Of Living.
“You can bind up my leg, but not even Zeus has the power to break my freedom of choice.”
— EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.1.23
No matter what anybody does to your physical body — perhaps they throw you in the chains, take away your physical strength or leave you in prison — you will always have mental freedom.
- You will always have freedom of thought; this allows you to think about positives rather than negatives, even if you’re in an incredibly difficult situation.
- You’ll always have freedom of choice; you can choose to see this event as something strength building rather than something earth shattering, and you can choose to use the negative event to grow.
- You’ll always have freedom of objectivity; you can choose to view the negative event without attaching names or labels to it, and without feeling like a victim — this contributes to mental toughness.
You’ll always have freedom of the mind, no matter what happens.
Your mind is your greatest asset, and so use it to stay strong and break out of negative situations!
