At this point in the exercise we are reminded that we have to let go of our opinion of how other people, places and things ought to be. My mum, my girlfriend Laura and the government of North Korea are not obliged to moderate their reality in accordance with my whims. If I make my happiness contingent on them behaving in a certain way, I am fucked. I have to petition the universe, my innermost self, God, or whatever it is that I believe might be more powerful than me, to adjust my view – the view that my feelings have a meaningful bearing on the external world. We don’t trouble ourselves
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Much like in the way Descartes' sets our his moral rules for following his Discourse on the method for finding truths, it is important to remember, Stoically, that the only thing you can conquer and change is yourself. Do so for the sake of your own happiness, fore you shan't be happy if your happiness relies upon changing things outside of your control (such as; the world).
