Someone can't frustrate you, work can't overwhelm you—these are external objects, and they have no access to your mind. Those emotions you feel, as real as they are, come from the inside, not the outsideby Parker on TwosSomeone can't frustrate you, work can't overwhelm you—these are external objects, and they have no access to your mind. Those emotions you feel, as real as they are, come from the inside, not the outsideWhat we assume, what we willingly generate in our mind, that's on us. We can't blame other people for making us feel stressed or frustrated any more than we can blame them for our jealousy. The cause is within us. They're just the target"For there are two rules to keep at the ready–that there is nothing good or bad outside my own reasoned choice, and that we shouldn't try to lead events but to follow them." - Epictetus"The cause of my irritation is not in this person but in me." - Anthony de MelloRemember, each individual has a choice. You are always the one in control. The cause of irritation—or our notion that something is bad—that comes from us, from our labels or our expectations. Just as easily, we can change those labels; we can change our entitlement and decide to accept and love what's happening around us