“In this way you must understand how laughable it is to say, ‘Tell me what to do!’. What advice could I possibly give? No, a far better request is, ‘Train my mind to adapt to any circumstance.’…In this way, if circumstances take you off script…you won’t be desperate for a new prompting.” Epictetus, Discourses.

When faced with unexpected circumstances, you can find yourself momentarily confused and disorientated and scrambling around for direction or a plan. This is normal, but don’t allow these emotions (of fear of failure and of looking stupid) prevent you from thinking clearly. When your course of action is blocked, step back and ask yourself what it was you were intending to achieve and how has the situation now changed?

By remembering what you set out to do (your ‘higher purpose’), you can keep a calm mind and search for the answer yourself. It will come, and it might just be better than your original plan.

Photo by Jean-Frederic Fortier on Unsplash.