Generally then if you would make anything a habit, do it; if you would not make it a habit, do not do it, but accustom yourself to do something else in place of it.
What it means
To build a habit, do the thing; to break one, stop doing it, and do something else in its place. Every habit is kept alive by the actions that feed it, so the only way to change one is to change what you actually do.
The last part matters most. Epictetus doesn’t just say stop; he says replace. A habit left empty tends to come back, but a habit crowded out by another one doesn’t.
The context
The discourse opens with the principle in the passage above: walking makes you a walker, running a runner, reading a reader. Stop for thirty days, Epictetus says, and you will know the consequence; lie in bed for ten days, then try a long walk, “and you will see how your legs are weakened.”
He then applies the same rule to the mind. “When you have been angry, you must know that not only has this evil befallen you, but that you have also increased the habit, and in a manner thrown fuel upon fire.” Each outburst isn’t only a moment; it’s practice for the next one.
Why it matters
We tend to treat our worst moments as one-offs: I lost my temper, but that’s not who I am. Epictetus would say every time we give in, we’re training ourselves to give in again, and every time we don’t, we’re training the opposite.
His advice is also practical. Trying not to do something leaves a gap, and old habits rush back into gaps. Decide what you’ll do instead, whether that’s a walk instead of the phone or a pause instead of a sharp reply, and practise that.
About Epictetus
Greek Stoic philosopher, c. AD 50–c. 135
Epictetus was born a slave around AD 50 in Hierapolis, in Phrygia (in today’s Turkey). In Rome he was owned by Epaphroditus, a wealthy freedman who served as secretary to the emperor Nero, and he studied Stoic philosophy under Musonius Rufus. He gained his freedom after Nero’s death in 68 and taught philosophy in Rome.
Around 93, when the emperor Domitian banished philosophers from the city, he moved to Nicopolis in Epirus, in Greece, and founded a school there. He wrote nothing himself. His teaching survives through his pupil Arrian, who recorded it in the Discourses and the short handbook known as the Enchiridion. He died around 135.
The source, and how we checked it
It comes from Discourses, "How We Should Struggle Against Appearances" (translated by George Long), before c. AD 135.
The full passage:
Every habit and faculty is maintained and increased by the corresponding actions: the habit of walking by walking, the habit of running by running. If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write.
We matched the quote word for word against the Project Gutenberg text of George Long's translation, in the discourse "How We Should Struggle Against Appearances". Epictetus wrote nothing himself; the Discourses are his pupil Arrian's record of his teaching, in Greek, so other translations word it differently. We last checked this on 1 November 2026.