Men are disturbed not by things
that happen,
but by their opinions of the things
that happen.
-Epictetus
The idea is that no one can make you upset without your consent. Think about times when you are upset in life… Think about times when you were really mad at a friend or loved one. What did they do to make you upset? Would you have still been upset if you didn’t know that they did that? Of course not. How could you be upset if you didn’t know about it? But then, clearly, it’s not about the action. You weren’t upset until you learned about it and then decided to react by being upset.
We can’t blame external circumstances for unhappiness. Shift your opinions or thought, and you’ll remove your discomfort. Life is really what you make of it.
