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Welcome to the Inspirit Podcast. One of the most significant times of my life at sixteen was when I understood that if you're ever distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but your estimate of it, and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. It was a stoic quote spoken by Marcus Aurelius that states that reality does not dictate your internal state, your interpretation of the reality does. It's not what happens to you, it's about what you do about what happens to you that matters. The suffering isn't coming from the event, it's coming from the meaning. Someone leaves you, you feel abandoned. You fail, you feel worthless. Someone disrespects you, you feel small. But there is no judgment within the event. The events themselves are neutral, they just happen. It's the internal translation that burns. But is it as easy as choosing a different meaning? No, of course not. Our translation of those events were written long before the moment happened. Maybe when you were younger, maybe when you first felt not enough, maybe when you were first betrayed in love, or were confused at feelings you didn't understand, so it was easier for the brain to blame you in order to protect you from the true horror. So when something happens today, it's not reinforcing the present version of you. It's reinforcing an old language you formed years ago, maybe when it was easier to protect yourself that way, because you were powerless at no fault of your own, at no fault of your own. And so those estimates, those meanings feel like the truth of the reality. I am unworthy, I am not in control, my life has no value, I'm better off alone. But it's not the truth, it's just deep meaning when your brain had no other meaning it could use to protect you. But this meaning, this messaging can be rewritten, not instantly, not by force, and certainly not by pretending it doesn't exist, but by asking what else could this reality mean? What if I don't say because this happened I will be alone, but despite this happening, I have learnt to love my own time? What if I don't say I have failed, but I've learnt something about the process I can now refine and move from? What if I don't say I have nothing in my life, no family, no fallback, but I am blessed to be alive and have been privileged with the opportunity to flourish within it? To change your meaning isn't about suppression, it's about recognizing that between any event and the suffering there is a space of self-reflection, and that space is your freedom to make powerful decisions that either reinforce the messages that once protected but now destroy you, or begin communicating in a new language that empowers you. If you're ever distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but your estimate of it, and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. Your estimate isn't fixed, it is learned, and it can be unlearned. So the next time you feel distressed, pause and ask yourself What have I chosen in how this event has affected me? And maybe slowly with love for yourself, choose again.