You Don’t Need to Have an Opinion

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned over the last few years is that not having an opinion on something is a perfectly valid option.

In a world where we’re constantly bombarded with news and media from all over the world, it can be very easy to get yourself worked up about every little thing.

From serious issues like social injustice to pointless things like a celebrity’s favourite brand of cereal, we’re constantly told to have an opinion on anything and everything.

And yes, there are things you absolutely should care about — injustice, racism, homophobia, to name a few — but outside of this, the VAST majority of things we get worked up about can be ignored.

What You Do Control and What You Don’t

Stoicism teaches us that there are things we should care about and we should ignore.

It’s helpful to break things in your life down into two lists:

- Things you have control over

- Things you do not have control over

In the first list, Things You Do Control, we can consider our actions, our views, and our thoughts. And in the second list, Things You Don’t Control, is literally everything else: the opinions of others, the actions of others, the emotions of others, events happening in the world, etc.

When you focus your energy only on what you can control, you quickly shed the emotional baggage you didn’t realise you were carrying.

To quote the Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius:

It is possible to have no understanding of this and not be troubled in mind: things of themselves have no inherent power to form our judgements.

— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (6.52)

Life becomes so much easier when you stop getting worked up about all the little things going on, when you stop acting on every little impression that comes your way.

Instead, focus on what really matters: your own actions.