The most unbearable things in life are often the things we never expected. And these things are unbearable because they catch us off-guard.
When we expect only good things to happen to us, the smallest thing might ruin our entire day. That’s why today’s topic is negative visualisation.
In this post, we’ll discuss this practice, its benefits and how to get started. We’ll also see how one of the great Stoics applied the technique.
What is Negative Visualisation?
Negative visualisation was a powerful tool for the Stoics that involved visualising worst-case scenarios. It’s a form of Stoic mindfulness where we focus on the things that matter most to us. And we imagine losing these things.
To engage in negative visualisation is to consider the bad things that might happen to us at any moment. After all, some things are outside our control. That’s why we should learn to accept these things as fate.
And while this practice may seem counter-intuitive, negative visualisation is valuable for our mental health.
Why Is Negative Visualisation Useful?
The reasons negative visualisation is useful boil down to preparedness and resilience. Negative visualisation helps us anticipate realistic events and improve our pscyhological resilience.
Anticipating Realistic Events
Don’t get me wrong. Positivity definitely has its place in personal development. Whether we’re talking about positive affirmations or living a happy life, positivity is a great outlook in life.
But it’s also important to realistic.
After all, life has its negative sides. It’s not all success and joy all the time.
Remember Murphy’s law…
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Running away from our fears is no way to live. In the long run, it only creates more stress and anxiety.
Instead, we should tackle our fears head on. We should do what we can to prepare for these events. Preparedness will make sure we know what to do when disaster strikes.
It’s always best to be prepared.
Training Psychological Resilience
In addition to practical preparedness, negative visualisation can help us become psychologically resilience. Donald Robertson, CBT and Stoicism academic, explains the modern psychology insight.
Recent psychological research tends to show that people who are able to accept unpleasant thoughts and feelings, without being overwhelmed by them, are more resilient than people who try to distract themselves or avoid such experiences, through strategies such as positive thinking.
Donald Robertson
By imagining the bad things that can happen to us, we learn how we react in the face of adversity. We become more confident in our abilities to cope in negative situations.
Things will always go wrong. And if we’re not prepared, little things can ruin our day.
But with just a little practice, we can become resilient in the face of adversity.
How to Practice Negative Visualisation?
We often forget to be grateful for what we have in life. Instead, we take it all for granted. We expect only good things to happen to us.
Whenever something bad happens, we feel the universe is plotting against us. But that’s just life. We have to learn to accept the good with the bad.
Take 10 minutes now to reflect on what negative things could happen.
What to Imagine?
For your first negative visualisation, here are a few examples to start off with.
A pet might die, a close friend or family member can fall ill or you could lose your job.
Important things in your life might include your possessions, loved ones, your job, entertainment and hobbies. These are all things that can be taken away from you in one way or another.
You might think that’s not true, for example, because your hobbies are free. But to a Stoic that might sound like you’ve grown attached. After all, playing guitar will be difficult if you lose your fingers in an electrical accident.
Think of all the things that you’d hate to happen. Then imagine how you’d react if these things were to happen.
The brilliance of negative visualisation is that it helps us distance ourselves from overwhelmingly negative emotions. The practice makes any negative event seem much more manageable.
Simply being aware of potentially negative events is half the benefit.
Understanding how we cope in any situation is also a confidence booster.
How to Make Negative Visualisation a Habit
Try to repeat this process everyday and imagine new bad things that could happen to you.
We can practice negative visualisation at a set time everyday as a part of our daily routine. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to benefit from this practice.
All we need is to make it a conscious habit.
We can then benefit from a life of preparedness, resilience and confidence.
Seneca’s Negative Visualisation Practice
Seneca was a Stoic playwright who practiced negative visualisation regularly. He would begin by reviewing his plans for the week and imagining everything that might go wrong.
For example, he served the Roman public as one of the emperor’s advisers. Because of his position, he was one of the richest men in Rome. Many people called Seneca a hypocrite for his high social status while preaching Stoicism.
Seneca argued that, despite his wealth, he was not like other wealthy people. He didn’t place great emphasis on his status and possessions. If he woke up one morning with everything taken away from him, he argued, he would be psychologically unaffected.
Seneca was ready to give everything up if something were to happen that took it all away from him. This would simply be one more obstacle to overcome.
After all, change is the rhythm of the universe. Nothing lasts forever. We can’t claim anything as our own. We simply borrow what we have from the universe.
Nothing happens to the wise man against his expectation, nor do all things turn out for him as he wished but as he reckoned—and above all he reckoned that something could block his plans.
Seneca
Seneca repeated this practice daily and looked at his life through this lens regularly. From his greater life purpose to the details of his daily plans. For example, if he were planning a trip he would imagine things that might happen to affect his trip.
There could be a storm on the morning of departure, the captain could fall ill or the ship could be attacked by pirates.
With this mentality, Seneca was prepared for any disruption.
Seneca’s Final Lesson
When Emperor Nero grew paranoid and erratic, he blamed Seneca for an assassination attempt against him. And when Nero forced him to commit suicide, Seneca demonstrated his final Stoic lesson.
Seneca calmed his friends and loved ones who had come to see him in his final hour.
Where are your maxims of philosophy, or the preparation of so many years’ study against evils to come? Who knew not Nero’s cruelty? After a mother’s and a brother’s murder, nothing remains but to add the destruction of a guardian and a tutor.
Those were among Seneca’s last words before he was forced to commit suicide. He was clearly prepared, not to mention resilient. He had envisioned his own death countless times.
Knowing first-hand the extent of Nero’s temper, it would not be so crazy to imagine his life would end at the emperor’s orders. Having imagined this situation countless times, he was both prepared and resilient.
In this final moment, Seneca showed how we can conquer death like a Stoic with negative visualisation.
Negative Visualisation in a Nutshell
The Stoics developed negative visualisation as a tool to brace themselves for the harsh realities of life.
Negative visualisation involves contemplating the bad things that might happen to us at any moment. Simply, imagine losing all the things you value most in life.
That way we’re prepared. Even if bad things never happen, it’s smart to plan for the best and prepare for the worst.
Become psychologically resilient with negative visualisation and Mind & Practice today.