Idea
How can you keep your purpose when plans go wrong?
Short answer
Set two intentions: pursue the practical task and preserve a considered way of acting when obstacles arise.
In Enchiridion IV, Epictetus asks readers heading to a bathhouse to anticipate what happens there: splashing, pushing, insults, and theft. The purpose is not simply to bathe, but also to keep one’s will in accordance with nature. An obstacle to the first purpose need not defeat the second.
A modern meeting can be approached in the same way: aim to explain your proposal, and also to listen and respond honestly if interrupted. Success has more than one dimension. The outcome matters, but so does the manner in which you pursue it. This meeting example is an editorial application of the bathhouse passage.
Practice: before a likely disruption, complete the sentence, ‘I want to do this, and I want to act with…’ Choose a quality such as patience or fairness. If the plan changes, adapt the practical steps while keeping that quality in view. Preparing for difficulty need not mean assuming the worst about everyone.
