“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things.”Epictet · Diatribe · 108 · Enchiridion, capitolul 5
Suffering comes not from the fact itself, but from the verdict we pass on it.
Between event and emotion stands a judgment, and judgment is within our power. If a loss means disaster to you, you will suffer; if it means change, you will bear the same fact differently. The mechanism is separating what happens from what we say about it. A colleague receiving criticism can see humiliation or useful information — the fact is identical, the suffering is not.
Interpretations don't happen just once; they repeat until they become habit. Someone who sees disaster in every small setback trains the mind to react the same way tomorrow. The good news: the habit of judging can be retrained. When the car won't start in the morning, you can say "catastrophic delay" or "a day to take the bus and read." The fact is identical; the training differs. The next question is what, in practice, helps you pause a judgment before it settles in.
Why it matters It underlies today's cognitive therapy: when facing bad news, failure, or blame, the first step is to check the interpretation, not the reality.