Cognitive Distancing: A Stoic Technique to Remain Calm

It’s not things that upset us but our judgments about things

This article will shed light on the art of Cognitive Distancing. A powerful stoic exercise that can change how we perceive obstacles. It was taught by ancient Roman philosophers and is now popularized by the cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist and Stoic Donald Robertson in his brilliant book — “How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius.”

What is Cognitive Distancing?

Cognitive Distancing can be summed up in the famous quote by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus “It’s not things that upset us but rather our opinions about things.” The stoics believed that events, whether good or bad, don’t by themselves affect us, but instead, when we assign a judgement to them, we get into trouble. In other words, Cognitive Distancing is the ability to view one’s thoughts as a construction of reality rather than reality itself.

Let’s consider the analogy of coloured glasses to drive this point home. We could look at the world through positive rose-tinted glasses or sad blue ones. Depending on our glasses, we have a different perception of the world and all that happens to us. Cognitive Distancing is the ability to take the glasses off and realize…