Self-Control

“It’s silly to try to escape other people’s faults. They are inescapable. Just try to escape your own”
-Marcus Aurelius

“Wow…How can they do this to me?”

“I’ve done so much for them.”

“They always use me.”

This scenario occurs time after time throughout our lives. Sometimes we’ve taught people how to treat us…sometimes people are selfish and lazy.

Theses no doubt that it’s frustrating, but how much time do you allow other people to occupy your mind? How much time do you allow it to rob you of your time, family, and your peace of mind?

There is a line that Marcus Aurelius quotes from Euripides. “You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all.” 

What good does the negative emotion do anyway?

Isn’t it interesting how we rage at the things that are outside our control; traffic, employees, opinions, weather.
The world is going to take things from you; time, energy, and money.

It’s even going to take other people from you. It’s going to do this whether you like it or not. It leaves a little control for us; however, only a small piece of control remains in our hands.

Therefore it’s all up to us to decide what we choose to do with our emotions.

Hold on to them?

Or let them go?

So if we’re going to be stressed or upset about anything; if we’re going to criticize or critique; there is only one place to look. It’s in that very little space we have control over...Our thoughts

“Let go or be dragged” –Chines Proverb