What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance.
Epictetus
Epictetus
It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.
Seneca
Seneca
Warriors should suffer their pain silently.
Erin Hunter
Erin Hunter
If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius
“It isn’t events themselves that disturb people, but only their judgments about them.”
—EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 5
—EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 5
Events Don't Hurt Us, But Our Views of Them Can
Things themselves don't hurt or hinder us. Nor do other people. How we view these things is another matter. It is our attitudes and reactions that give us trouble.
Therefore, even death is no big deal in and of itself. It is our notion of death, our idea that it is terrible, that terrifes us. There are so many different ways to think about death. Scrutinize your notions about death—and everything else. Are they really true? Are they doing you any good? Don't dread death or pain; dread the fear of death or pain.
We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.
- A manual for Living by Epictetus
Things themselves don't hurt or hinder us. Nor do other people. How we view these things is another matter. It is our attitudes and reactions that give us trouble.
Therefore, even death is no big deal in and of itself. It is our notion of death, our idea that it is terrible, that terrifes us. There are so many different ways to think about death. Scrutinize your notions about death—and everything else. Are they really true? Are they doing you any good? Don't dread death or pain; dread the fear of death or pain.
We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.
- A manual for Living by Epictetus