“Don’t lament this and don’t get agitated.”
MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.43
Today’s wisdom from the ancients (in The Daily Stoic book) essentially amounts to, “Relax dude, don’t get yourself all worked up, everything’s gonna be alright.” Not exactly mind-blowing insight, but something that we easily forget, and it bears repeating from time to time.
We tend to overreact when something bad happens. We imagine the worst is yet to come, we put a down payment on misery, we panic. All of that is pointless of course — and harmful, even. It’s pointless because can’t control the past, and we can’t control the future either. What has happened has already happened; there’s nothing we can do about it. And whatever is coming next is going to happen, whether we like it or not.
It’s harmful because it fills our heart with emotions that aren’t helpful, and it crowds out the more positive emotions that we do need. It fills our minds with fretful thinking that has no value — and then there’s no room for reasoned choice or careful thought. We start jumping to conclusions and assuming the worst, and it’s downhill from there.
In the immortal words of Bob Marley, “Everything’s gonna be alright.” Believe that — because it’s true.