Did your spouse die? Did you lose your job because of the Pandemic? Do you have a cancer diagnosis? Are you unemployed? Horrible events. But, if you want to live, you have to decide not to wallow in the pain. Are you a poor, young College student who needs to run to a "Safe Zone" when someone espouses a political view that you don't like? Poor baby. Guess what? Unpleasant things are going to happen to you for the rest of your life. These events are completely out of your control. One reaction to this is to stomp your feet, scream, and run around with a sign that lets the whole world know how horrible your life is. Poor baby. I hesitate to offer you any advice, because you might not like it, and say bad things about me. Guess what? I don't care. Because I have learned something in my many years on this planet. I learned it from a man who lived 2,000 years ago. His name was Marcus Aurelius, and he said it first, and he said it best. Ryan Holiday has his own modern day take on it:
" It’s choosing to feel harmed that adds pain on top of objective events. Trying to project standards of fairness or order onto a pandemic? Onto cancer? Onto something as random as the economy or the climate? This is only going to make you miserable. This is only going to set you up for disappointment."
Hey, I get it. Fate and her fickle events are painful. They hurt. We cry. We are depressed. But, why on earth do I want to ADD to my misery? I want to make it better. I can make it better. I can ignore Fate, and get on with living. Sound like a plan?
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