“You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
When was the last time someone said something that angered you?
When was the last time you were overcome by sadness due to rejection?
When was the last time you gave it your all to hit a goal but just came up short?
Visualize the situation in your mind.
Now remember your reaction to the situation...
Perhaps you yelled, cried, stormed off in anger, quit.
You couldn't control what happened.
You could however, control your reaction.
The first step to conquering unfavorable situations like these is to gain some wisdom from Marcus Aurelius.
"“You have power over your mind—not outside events."
Outside events.
The opinion of another individual, the weather, the traffic....
These are all outside events.
You cannot control them. There's literally nothing you can do.
Focus on what YOU can control.
“You have power over your mind"
Your thoughts, your reaction to the situation at hand - these are the result of your mind
The strong minded stoic will acknowledge what happened and proceed on their road to success.
The weak minded individual will allow negative self-talk to cloud their mind, they'll spend days and days in a dark state - blaming themselves for an outcome that was beyond their control.
This is wasted energy, this energy can be channeled into your pursuits.
The 2nd Arrow is Optional...
The 2nd arrow is your self-pity and wallowing, this is where the true damage is done.
Don’t allow the 2nd arrow to hit – as soon as you feel the 1st you get back up and get back to it, there’s people that’re far, far worse off than you are.
As Morrie says you must put a limit on your self-pity, you may spend a moment or two a day but you cannot go through life feeling self-pity.