“These things don’t go together. You must be a unified person, either good or bad. You must work hard on either your own reasoning or on things not in your control – take great care with the inside and not what’s outside, that is, stand with the philosopher, or else with the mob!”
Epictetus, Discourses.
Working on your self-awareness is a work in progress and something well worth the effort. When your sense of self is developed, when you know internally what matters to you and you understand how you react to things not in your control, then you are in a well-informed position when it comes to managing external influences.
Those who lack this inner awareness, who don’t recognise the triggers around them, are more likely to fall victim to the power of the crowd, becoming another sheep in the flock and abdicating self to external forces.
