Look Ahead

Before Ryan Holiday gets on stage for a big speech, he runs through everything that could go wrong: trouble with the microphone, the clicker not advancing a slide, and the audience not reacting as anticipated. He is able to see potential problems before they arise and come up with solutions before anything actually happens. He is able to prevent himself from being overwhelmed if a problem arises by being prepared. 

This practice, called Premeditatio Malorum, is one of the oldest and most common practices in Stoic philosophy. It literally means the “premeditation of evils.”