Epictetus compared us to actors in a play—we don't get to choose the part or its length, only how well we play it. You might be a parent, a worker, a friend, a patient today. The script handed to you isn't fully yours to write. But how you carry your role—with care, with honesty, with grace—that part is entirely up to you. This frees you from a lot. You don't have to control the whole production. You just have to do your bit well and let the rest unfold. At the end of the day, you can ask not whether everything went your way, but whether you played your part with integrity.

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