Try the Other Handle
14 Jun 2024
“Every event has two handles—one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can’t. If your brother does you wrong, don’t grab it by his wronging, because this is the handle incapable of lifting it. Instead, use the other—that he is your brother, that you were raised together, and then you will have hold of the handle that carries.” —EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 43
Sometimes, shifting your perspective - or as Stephen Covey mentions in his books of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” - finding a “paradigm shift” is something that is important once you have exhausted options you would have normally tried. It is futile to keep trying the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Try something different and see what happens.
- “But why continue to lift by the handle that hasn’t worked?”
Being stuck in a certain mindset can be quite dangerous and addictive. Learning how to identify and mitigate risks from such ways of thinking are paramount to attain some semblance of clarity.