“If any external thing causes you distress, it is not the thing itself that troubles you, but your own judgment about it. And this you have the power to eliminate now.”

Marcus Aurelius

The stoics are the most practical practical of philosophers. Even though it was written almost 2,000 years ago, Marcus Aurelius’ book Meditations is full of practical life wisdom which can be applied to today’s world.

One key idea of Stoicism:

Don’t react to the external events that happen to us, but instead react to the judgments we have about these events, and we have the power to control these judgments.

There is not just an event and reaction, but rather there is an event, a judgment, and then a reaction.

Think about when something bad has happened in your life, maybe you were overlooked for a promotion at work, or someone insulted you. What was your first response?

Often we hastily react with anger or frustration. We project our pain on our peers. Does this response actually helping the situation?

You have the power to control how you respond, but you can’t necessarily stop the events from happening.

Reflection

Reflect on how you typically respond to negative events.

• Do you focus on the external event and immediately react, or do you exercise some patience and think about the appropriate response?
• Are your responses usually constructive or destructive?
• How can you develop your ability to focus on what you can control?

Changing yourself is more effective than trying to change the world.