Practice without showing off
Principle 47 from the Enchiridion
Measure it by how you behave, not by who notices. Discipline loses its purpose when the practice becomes a way to collect admiration.
Original Passage
When you have brought yourself to supply the necessities of your body at a small price, don't pique yourself upon it; nor, if you drink water, be saying upon every occasion, "I drink water." But first consider how much more sparing and patient of hardship the poor are than we. But if at any time you would inure yourself by exercise to labor, and bearing hard trials, do it for your own sake, and not for the world; don't grasp statues, but, when you are violently thirsty, take a little cold water in your mouth, and spurt it out and tell nobody.
Modern Interpretation
Here is one everyday case. Epictetus points to a quieter kind of vanity: showing off how simple or disciplined your life is. A practice can lose its purpose when it becomes a way to collect praise.
Practice for the effect it has on your character, not for the image it creates. What matters is whether the discipline changes how you behave, not whether people know you are doing it.
Many people also endure difficult circumstances without praise because they have no choice. Remembering this can make us less proud of hardships we selected for ourselves.
In Practice
Here is one everyday case. You start waking early, eating simply, and reducing expenses. Soon you feel tempted to mention it in every conversation.
You do not need to hide the practice, but notice why you want to mention it. Judge it by the effect on your behavior, not by how it makes you look.
Reflection Question
Which personal practice have you been talking about more than actually doing?