Epictetus taught that it isn't things that upset us, but our opinions about them. The rain isn't the problem; deciding the rain ruined everything is. This is freeing because while you can't always change what happens, you have real power over the story you tell about it. Two people meet the same setback and one is crushed while the other shrugs, because of the meaning each one added. You're not faking it or denying that hard things are hard. You're just catching the extra layer of judgment you stacked on top, and asking whether it's true, or whether a kinder reading fits the facts just as well.

Inspired by the old idea of dichotomy of control. Written by Ugo Charles.