@Yaowen

I also have to thank you for that excellent post.

The part about Epictetus really resonates with me. That is because I studied philosophy as an undergraduate, and I love stoicism. It has to do with the fact that we cannot control things that are outside of us. And so if we're trying to control things outside of us, we will always be miserable. We only have dominion over what is in our control.

Our reactions to things, how we feel about things, and our self-perception are all within our control. Those things may not be easy to change, but it's worth trying.