"In our own lives, **how many problems seem to come from applying judgments to things we don’t control**, as though there were a way they were supposed to be? **How often do we see what we think is there or should be there, instead of what actually is there?** "Having steadied ourselves and held back our emotions, we can see things as they really are. We can do that using our observing eye. **Perceptions are the problem. They give us the “information” that we don’t need, exactly at the moment when it would be far better to focus on what is immediately in front of us**: the thrust of a sword, a crucial business negotiation, an opportunity, a flash of insight or anything else, for that matter." ([Location 516](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00IX49OS4&location=516)) --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[perceived-threats]], [[mindfulness]], [[fear]], [[anxiety]], [[fud]], [[resilience]], [[leadership]], [[stoicism]] **Source** -- [[202409180132 - B - The Obstacle is the Way]]