You can make yourself better or you can make yourself feel better.

“You can make yourself better by evaluating your own weaknesses, by evaluating your own strengths, and working on yourself. It’s hard work. It takes focus and dedication. You’ll have painful moments. But ultimately in the long term, it makes everything easier. If you want to make yourself feel better, you tear other people down, and you throw mud, and you spend time on social media biting ankles, and that might feel good in the short term but in the long term, you’re gonna lose.” – Tim Ferriss

This quote came from a Tim Ferriss’ Q&A on how he uses social media.

As Tim points out in the video, using social media can feel like a full contact sport.

Headlines are often sensationalized and opinions are more readily available than facts themselves.

But as Epictetus once said, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

How you react will always be more important than what happens because unlike the latest headlines, negative comments, or opinions you don’t agree with, your reaction is the only thing within your control.

Consider your options when confronted with a difficult decision and remember: “You can make yourself better or you can make yourself feel better.”