August 9th, 2021
Don't tell yourself anything more than what the initial impressions report. It's been reported to you that someone is speaking badly about you. This is the report — the report wasn't that you've been harmed. I see that my son is sick — but not that his life is at risk. So always stay within your first impressions, and don't add to them in your head — this way nothing can happen to you.
We can easily slide down the rabbit hole. Marcus Aurelius sets the tone for not going down that rabbit hole with gossip and rumor.
Accept that people may be talking about you, but don't allow yourself to make it more than it is. Don't get carried away.
When we allow ourselves to be pragmatic, we see events and comments for what they are and don't allow ourselves to get carried away with what they could be.