So should you be careless with external things? No way. That would damage your will and go against nature. You should act carefully because how you use things matters. But you should also act with firmness and calm because the things themselves don't matter. Here's why: when the material itself doesn't matter, no one can stop you or force you to do anything. When you can be stopped or forced, getting those things isn't up to you — and they're neither good nor bad. But how you use them is either good or bad. And that use is up to you. It's hard to combine these two things: being careful like someone who cares about the outcome, while staying firm like someone who doesn't care about it at all. But it's not impossible.
What then? Should we use such things carelessly? In no way: for this on the other hand is bad for the faculty of the will, and consequently against nature; but we should act carefully because the use is not indifferent, and we should also act with firmness and freedom from perturbations because the material is indifferent. For where the material is not indifferent, there no man can hinder me or compel me. Where I can be hindered and compelled, the obtaining of those things is not in my power, nor is it good or bad; but the use is either bad or good, and the use is in my power. But it is difficult to mingle and to bring together these two things—the carefulness of him who is affected by the matter (or things about him), and the firmness of him who has no regard for it; but it is not impossible: