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I just got a forbidden stamp on my journal. What does this mean?

Some time around the year 64 AD, Seneca’s friend Lucilius sent him a letter. Lucilius was nervous about an ongoing lawsuit. We’re not sure what the suit was over, but we know that it was a serious case and that Lucilius had made himself anxious about the outcome and had written to Seneca for some advice.

Seneca’s advice? Why are you borrowing unhappiness? Why would you be miserable now just because you might be in the future? Basically, he told him that “what will happen will happen, so stop being anxious.” Now this might sound like a strange thing to hear from Seneca, the creator of the the premeditatio malorum exercise exercise that we have talked about a lot here in these emails. It’s stranger still considering that in the very same letter, Seneca tells Lucilius, “Let us think of everything that can happen as something which will happen.”

How does that work? Isn’t that contradictory advice?

Nope.

The point of premeditatio malorum—negative visualization—is not to make you worry. It’s to eliminate worry! By being aware of all of the possibilities that lay before us, we can now proceed with our preparations. Who has time for anxiety? We should be fortifying ourselves for what may come. Why waste time preferring one outcome to another? We are ready for all of them equally. But what if the worst case scenario happens? Ok, that won’t be fun, so let’s enjoy the present moment while we still can.

Premeditatio malorum—whether you carry it in your pocket in the form of our medallion—or you just run through it before embarking on a project or a journey or a long-haul flight, is a form of freedom. A form of empowerment. A way to help you meet the future by seizing what’s in front of you right now.

Use it.---The Daily Stoic

"The way someone else perceives what you do is a result of their own experiences (which you can’t control), their own preferences (which you can’t predict), and their own expectations (which you don’t set).

If your choices don’t match their expectations that is their concern, not yours."... James Clear