The surest way to achieve our goals is to moderate our desires.
A certain boy, as Epictetus tells the fable, put his hand into a pitcher full of figs and filberts. He grasped as many as his hand could hold, but when he tried to pull his hand out, the narrow neck of the pitcher prevented him. Unwilling to let go of any, but unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears, lamenting his hard luck. An honest man nearby gave him wise and reasonable advice: “Grasp only half the quantity, my boy, and you will easily succeed.”
