The wise realize that some things are within their control, and most things are not. They learn early on to distinguish between what they can and can't regulate.
EpictetusEverything has two handles; the one soft and manageable, the other such as will not endure to be touched. If then your brother do you an injury, do not take it by the hot hard handle, by representing to yourself all the aggravating circumstances of the fact; but look rather on the soft side, and extenuate it as much as is possible, by considering the nearness of the relation, and the long friendship and familiarity between you--obligations to kindness which a single provocation ought not to dissolve. And thus you will take the accident by its manageable handle.
EpictetusThe cause of all human evils is the not being able to apply general principles to special cases.
Epictetus