I Am Responsible for My Inner World
Today I sat quietly and thought about responsibility. Not the kind that involves work, deadlines, or obligations to others, but the deeper kind. The responsibility I have for my own inner world. My thoughts. My emotions. My reactions. My peace. It is easy to blame circumstances when I feel unsettled. A message. A tone. A delay. Someone’s behavior. I catch myself thinking, If this did not happen, I would be fine. But Stoicism gently reminds me that while I cannot control what happens outside of me, I am always responsible for what happens inside me. This realization feels both heavy and freeing. Heavy, because it means I can no longer point outward when I am unhappy. Freeing, because it means my peace is not at the mercy of other people’s actions. Today, something small triggered an emotional response in me. Nothing serious. Just a familiar feeling of being overlooked. I noticed the reaction forming before it fully took shape. The thoughts started quietly. Maybe I am not impor...