“You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all.” – Marcus Aurelius.

That might be tough tonic, but it’s connected to an important focus for budding stoics: Circumstances do not change as a result of how angry you get at them.

Because circumstances are not people.

Your feelings are choices: You choose anger over calm; you choose fear over courage; you choose misery over joy. Which choice is more productive? Which punishes the chooser and which punishes the circumstance?

Stop wasting your time (or breath) getting angry at things that are utterly indifferent to your feelings. Stop thinking that emoting at inanimate objects or situations or entities is going to change anything. It’s like that saying about taking poison and expecting the other person to die. You’re not helping anything.

Focus on what you can change, on what you can do—not on the reaction you have about something.