the cause of suffering is believing that we're powerless…
Keyword pane the cause of suffering is believing that we're powerless to solve a problem We think is preventing us from being happy. The end suffering, we can either figure out a way to solve the problem we believe is preventing us from being happy or we can figure out how to be happy without solving the problem.
— from The Heart in the Cockpit (Emotion/Awe/Anxiety/Regret/Empathy) · 10 worlds new psychology of happiness
In the book
Pain is the raw sensation; suffering is the experience of being overwhelmed or defeated by it. And the root of suffering is usually a belief — the belief that you are powerless to solve the thing standing between you and happiness. Sadness itself is a normal, healthy emotion; it is the dwelling in it, the wallowing, that turns self-destructive. — The Heart in the Cockpit (Emotion/Awe/Anxiety/Regret/Empathy)