The power of negative thinking

Reduce anxiety + boost resilience with this one-minute practice

Several years ago, a smart and successful friend of mine said an extraordinarily unwise thing: that the whole game of life is to accumulate as many pleasant experiences as possible—so as to avoid looking into the abyss.

Good luck with that.

Given that life is filled with nonnegotiable vexations (including the inevitable death of you and everyone you know), the smarter strategy is to deliberately boost your psychological immune system.

One way to do that is to take risks and embrace failure. Another is a quick visualization technique designed by ancient Stoic philosophers. It’s called “the premeditation of evils.” Which, I know, sounds like something you’d hear from the Grand Maester on Game of Thrones.

But it’s simple. Just close your eyes for a minute and envision something incredibly difficult. The loss of a loved one. A layoff. A terrible health diagnosis. Then imagine how you would handle it. Would it crush you? Or could you persevere? Most likely, the latter.

This trains the mind not only for resiliency but also for gratitude. Because when you open your eyes and realize none of those things have actually happened, the world seems more vibrant. You stop taking shit for granted. Repeat as needed.

I talk about this practice—and much more—on the podcast today with William Irvine, one of the leading experts in Stoicism.

Bill is one of many great teachers featured on Waking Up, a top-notch meditation app with amazing teachers and a ton of courses for all levels. If you subscribe via this link: wakingup.com/tenpercent, you’ll get a 30-day free trial—and you’ll be supporting the 10% Happier team, too. Full and partial scholarships are available.

In addition to getting the 10% Happier podcast ad-free, paid subs get a cheatsheet for each episode (with key takeaways, time-coded highlights, and a transcript), can comment on my posts, access my subscriber chats, and join my twice-monthly live video sessions, in which I guide a meditation and take questions.

Our next session is this Wednesday, April 23rd at 5:00PM ET. Join the party.

Episode Cheatsheet

The big takeaway

William Irvine, a renowned philosopher, discusses how Stoicism builds a resilient psychological immune system. He delves into various Stoic strategies that help manage setbacks, reduce negative emotions, and increase positive ones, offering a pathway to a calmer, more resilient life.