You try because there's a chance of getting the outcome you want, but you don't tether your happiness to that outcome. You accept the limited control you have -

You try because there's a chance of getting the outcome you want, but you don't tether your happiness to that outcome. You accept the limited control you have -- this is how Stoics reconcile the pursuit of mental imperturbation with the pursuit of outcomes. To Quote Cicero, remaking on the Stoics: “If a man were to make it his purpose to take a true aim with a spear or arrow at some mark, his ultimate end, corresponding to the ultimate good as we pronounce it, would be to do all he could to aim straight … whereas the actual hitting of the mark would be in our phrase ‘to be chosen’ but not ‘to be desired.'” So a Stoic might try to effectuate a particular outcome in, say, her political life -- choosing actions that align with the outcome, but does not "desire" it -- meaning her self-worth and happiness is tightly bound with whether she gets it or not. It's a fair thing to ask how psychologically tenable this is. Some people may struggle with this kind of framing. I personally have found it liberating.