It is not things themselves that disturb us, but our opinions about them.
Imagine being sold into slavery as a child. Epictetus was — yet he rose to become one of the most respected philosophers of his age. When his master broke his leg, Epictetus did not scream, complain, or curse. Instead, he later said: 'Pain is real, but suffering is a choice.' He explained that external events are not inherently good or bad — they simply are. What causes suffering is the meaning we assign to them. This simple yet radical idea is the foundation of cognitive freedom.
You are not disturbed by the world — only by the lens through which you view it.
"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances."