Epictetus offered a striking line: don't wish things to be as you want, but wish them to be as they are, and your life will go smoothly. It sounds passive, but it's the opposite. You can only act well on reality once you've stopped arguing with it. Fighting what's already true, the traffic, the diagnosis, the no, just exhausts you before the real work begins. Accepting what is doesn't mean approving of it or giving up on change. It means starting from solid ground instead of from wishful protest. See clearly what is, feel what you feel about it, and then move, from here, with the energy you saved.

Inspired by the old idea of wish things as they are. Written by Ugo Charles.