Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic philosopher turned Roman emperor, said, “Here is a rule to remember in the future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not ‘This is misfortune,’ but ‘To bear this worthily is good fortune.’” It’s entirely within our power to determine how we think about and talk about our problems. They can be a nuisance or a stepping stone. They can hold us down or lift us up. In fact, Stoic philosophers like Aurelius believed that outside events hold no power over us at all. We create our own reality with our minds. “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself
...more
