“What disturbs men are not things, but their opinions about things.”Epictet · Diatribe · 108 · cartea I, capitolul 11
The event is neutral; only my interpretation of it turns it into suffering.
Epictet draws a line between the world and the judgment we project onto it. Events are neutral; distress appears when we assign them a threatening meaning or read them as a personal insult. Two people can live through the same situation in entirely different ways, because each interprets it through their own beliefs. A red light is just a fact; the rage comes from the thought that someone is stealing my time.
Why it matters The idea underlies cognitive behavioral therapy and helps anyone dealing with anxiety or frustration: between event and reaction sits an interpretation you can examine and change.