Epictetus used the image of an archer. You can choose your bow, steady your breath, aim with care, all of that is yours. But once the arrow leaves the string, the wind and a thousand things you cannot see take over. To tie your peace to whether it hits the center is to hand your peace to the wind. So do the part that is yours fully and well: the preparation, the honest attempt. Then let the outcome go. This is not laziness; it is the opposite. It frees you to try hard without the crushing weight of needing to win. You shot well. Whether it lands as you hoped is, in the end, not the measure of you.

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