I’m looking out of my living room window right now. It’s raining.
Now, if I say to myself the words “It’s raining,” will that make it rain more? Less? For longer? Not for as long? Will it in fact have any effect whatsoever on what the clouds decide to do?
Of course not.
Well, what if I look out at the puddles and the wet windscreens and the drops falling off the gutters and say to myself “It isn’t raining,” instead? Will that make a difference?
No.
The rain doesn’t care if I accept it or deny it. It cannot be moved by my judgment. What’s a girl to do? Shrug my shoulders and get on with something indoors.
“The Fates guide the person who accepts them and hinder the person who resists them.”
Cleanthes – (quoted in Ryan Holiday – “The Obstacle is the Way”)