Question:“On imagining the worst”
On imagining the worst
Picturing the worst in advance is not preparation. It is living through it early. Whoever lives through what has not happened pays the same price twice.
Once you have drawn the worst, draw the most likely beside it. Set the two side by side and choose only one to prepare for. Preparation is shorter than imagination.
Epictetus said that people are shaken not by things but by their thoughts about things. He said it as a man born a slave, walking with a limp.