Meaning

This line asks you to do something deceptively simple: decide who you want to be before you decide what to do. Epictetus is pointing out that action without prior self-definition tends to be scattered and purposeless. Once you have a clear picture of the person you are trying to become, the right course of action tends to follow naturally from that image. Identity comes first; behavior is its expression.

Context

The Discourses are a record of Epictetus's classroom teachings, written down by his student Arrian in the second century. Epictetus ran a school of Stoic philosophy and was known for pressing his students on questions of character and intention rather than abstract theory. This particular line sits within a broader argument that most people drift through life reacting to circumstances rather than acting from a settled sense of self. The Stoic tradition placed enormous weight on the inner life as the only domain a person truly controls.

About the author

Epictetus was a Greek-speaking Stoic philosopher who lived roughly from the mid-first century to the early second century. He was born into slavery and later gained his freedom, an experience that gave his thinking about freedom and self-mastery a vivid personal dimension. He never wrote anything himself; everything we have comes through Arrian's notes. Despite his humble origins, his ideas attracted students from across the Roman world and continue to influence readers today.