Progress toward tranquility is measured by the extent to which you’re withdrawn from externals. You turn to your own will, to your own faculties, to that part of you which is most you. And in doing so, you exercise this innermost part. By labor, you improve it so that it conforms to human nature. This is the path to freedom. With it comes faithfulness and modesty. Epictetus says that if someone gave you away as a slave, you would be rightfully angry. Giving yourself away is what you do with your mind when you tie your well being to external things.
