Stoic practice · 3–5 min

Cognitive Distancing

Separate the event from the judgment added to it.

Use when: upset, conflict, uncertainty, first impressions

How the practice works

1. Name the situation What happened, in observable terms only?
2. Remove the story Finish this sentence: “…and that's terrible because…”
3. Read the frame The event and your judgment about it are not the same thing. The first impression may arrive uninvited; assent is what you examine.
4. Record what you notice Address the thought plainly: “You are a judgment, not the thing itself.” What changes?
5. Choose the next action What deliberate action remains?

“Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by their opinions about the things.”

— Epictetus, Enchiridion 5