A lot of people in life have terrible problems dealing with politics, with disassociating their emotions from the work world or the realm of power. They take everything personally. I myself had a terrible problem working in offices, working in Hollywood, working in journalism, and so on. I’m a bit naive, and a lot of other people are too. And basically what happens in these situations is, because nobody trains you for these things, you get emotional—you take what people say and do personally. The moment you get wrapped up in the emotions of it, you’re done. You have to be able to look at life as if it were moves on a chessboard. Marcus Aurelius has this great quote that I’ll paraphrase: if you’re in a boxing ring and the boxer punches you in the face, you don’t whine about the unfairness or the cruelty. No, that’s just part of the game. I want you to see life like this: If someone does something to you that is nasty, get control of your emotions. Don’t react. Don’t get upset. Look at it as moves on a chessboard. They are moving you. Don’t listen to their words, because people will say anything. Look at their moves. Look at their maneuvers. Look at their past actions. Actions tell you who they are, not what they say. That kind of self-control is immensely liberating and empowering.
Daily Law: Judging people by their actions and not taking them personally will free you up, help you keep your emotional balance.
“Robert Greene: Mastery and Research,”
Finding Mastery: Conversations with Michael Gervais, January 25, 2017