20. Insult Is a Decision You Made

The thing most people call being insulted is, on a closer look, a decision you made inside your own head. Epictetus asks you to catch it before it grows.

Remember, it is not the person who gives rough words or a blow who does the offending.

It is the idea in your mind that turns these things into offenses.

When someone provokes you, be sure that it is your own opinion that has provoked you.

First, try not to be carried off by the sight.

Once you gain a little time and space, you will find it easier to command yourself.

What this means. The gap between what happens and how you feel is where you live. Buy a few seconds in that gap and you stop being pulled around.