Reeling Intents

"When you are going about any action, remind yourself what nature the action is. If you are going to bathe, picture to yourself the things which usually happen in the bath: some people splash the water, some push, some use abusive language, and others steal. Thus you will more safely go about this action if you say to yourself, “I will now go bathe, and keep my own mind in a state conformable to nature.” And in the same manner with regard to every other action. For thus, if any hindrance arises in bathing, you will have it ready to say, “It was not only to bathe that I desired, but to keep my mind in a state conformable to nature; and I will not keep it if I am bothered at things that happen.” -Epictetus, from Hackszine

Rebooted Interpretation

Before going out, set an intention for how things will go. Not for the external things, those cannot be accounted for, focus instead on how to feel. If, for example, our intention is to move through the activity serenely, cohesively, then this will impress our experience more powerfully than our default, which is to randomly allow the external or past experience to trigger whatever it wills within our psyches. Our intention gives us more gravity in any situation. If the situation catches us unawares, we can just drop into the now, to what we are immediately sensing with our body and then reel out an intent from there once anchored.