Epictetus: If you seek something good, draw it from…

A satisfying day does not have to wait for perfect weather, praise, good news, or an easy schedule. Those things are welcome, but they are unreliable suppliers of peace. You can create a more dependable kind of good through your own conduct. Make a fair decision. Give someone your undivided attention. Finish a task you have been avoiding. Speak truthfully without being harsh. Each of these is available even on an ordinary or difficult day. This does not deny disappointment; it keeps disappointment from owning the whole day. When you have acted well, you have participated in something no external event can fully take away. This morning, choose a standard that is in your control: be useful, be patient, or be honest. Check in tonight not only on what happened to you, but on what you contributed. That is a source of confidence you can renew daily.