“Everything hangs on one’s thinking. A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is.” —Seneca

Many people are anxious. This is due to the almost constant bombardment of media negativity streaming from the TV, radio, and Internet. Undeniably, our minds are hammered with the latest shocking news stories from school shootings, climate change, political infighting, natural disasters, terrorism, etc. Stepping back, it is easy to understand why negative news has such a central role in our society. We are hardwired to look for events and things that are dangerous to our well-being. Unfortunately, the media giants understand this and act upon our inherent tendencies for profit. There’s not much we can do about that, but we can control how we perceive and digest negative events to help reduce or eliminate anxiety.

We are all aware of how brutal the world is. There is constant bad news. Letting yourself worry about things not going your way will ensure that your life is one of constant sorrow in a world where things always go against your wants. The Stoics held that anxiety, which does nothing to remedy a problem but instead magnifies its effects, is one of the negative emotions that hurts us more than the things that generate it.

We must control our responses if we don’t want to add to our problems by worrying about them. Recognizing that we are not obligated to judge things outside of our control is the first step in doing this. It’s not necessary to judge things as excellent or terrible or to contrast them with what might have been. You always have the choice to remain neutral. There is never a reason to stress yourself out or torment your spirit over things you are powerless to change. Do not judge these things. Just let them be.

The Stoics used the phrase amor fati, or “love of fate,” which refers to the idea that rather than viewing events beyond our control as good or bad, we should consider them essential and, in doing so, welcome them as realities of life. None of this implies that we ought to take a back seat on anxiety. We should work to find solutions for the issues we can, but we won’t be able to do so by worrying about them; rather, we must accept them, make plans for them, and deal with them when they arise. Never let your future bother you. If necessary, you will combat it using the same tools of reason that you used to defend yourself from the present.

Focus on what you can do in the moment rather than worrying about the future. Your ideas are the source of your anxiety. Consequently, alter your thoughts to end anxiety. It is much simpler to alter your viewpoint than to alter the course of events.
And that is another lesson on becoming stoic.