That might not be entirely unfeasible/untrue; I seem to recall hearing about a Holocost survivor's story where he came to the realization that he had no control over his situation, but he did have control over his actions/reactions and [to a degree] emotions.
Sorry, but I really don't remember much detail of the story, just the general gist.
Are you maybe thinking of Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”?