The recent bank crashes highlight the vulnerability of today’s economic system. In spite of all the access to big data analytics, decisions made are are not full proof. This may happen to you as well. Life maybe going great, almost unbelievably so and next moment your health deteriorates or your company may go under and you may lose your job. Such nasty surprises have the power to destabilise us. But the Stoics have their way around this.
Enter – Premediatio malorum. The ancient way of pre-mediating evil. As per the Stoics, not being extra optimistic can actually help to avoid such setbacks. In daily life, practicing this can be highly beneficial.
What could go wrong?
Doing a pre-mortem analysis of a project with multiple what ifs scenarios can help you to pre-empt multiple unforeseen circumstances. This brainstorming of all the negative outcomes and failure scenarios helps to perfect your strategy.
But at the same time, re-examining your own life and applying these techniques of negative visualisation can be helpful too. Take for instance, your success at the workplace. You may be high flying executive with accolades to your name, but ignoring the pitfalls of over confidence can be expensive. That’s why subjecting yourself to the good old stoic way can help you stay grounded.
Avoiding the Paranoia of Pessimism
It is of course, natural to get carried away by this way. And this may not be helpful while taking on risky adventures. It may actually deter you from taking risky calls as the list of negative outcomes may be too long. But that’s where the Stoic way comes in again. They recommend not being attached to material possessions and fully accepting the consequences of one’s actions. The beauty of this is that even though certain outcomes maybe inevitable, at least you wouldn’t be caught by surprise.
Thus, practicing Stoicism can be beneficial in this VUCA and BANI world.