“We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.”

“It is not so much what happens to you as how you think about what happens.”

“Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.”

“It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

“To Epictetus, all external events are determined by fate, and are thus beyond our control, but we can accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. Individuals, however, are responsible for their own actions which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline. Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power. As part of the universal city that is the universe, human beings have a duty of care to all fellow humans. The person who followed these precepts would achieve happiness.”

“Don't seek to have events happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and all will be well with you.”

“Demand not that things happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do, and you will go on well.”