Negative Visualization

The idea is that you occasionally spend a short amount of time imagining in detail the negative things that could happen in life.

By doing so, you generate a renewed appreciation for all the things you do have.

It’s like you recalibrate, remembering what’s important and putting your current concerns and worries into perspective as you find more gratitude for what is already working well for you.

More than this, though, negative visualization is intended to put you back in control and take the sting out of worries and anxieties.

When we insist on avoiding any negative premonitions at all, we don’t give ourselves the chance to plan and prepare for them, and in a way, we give them more power over us.

In his 45 BC text Tusculan Disputations, Cicero explains, “I am ready to borrow of the Cyrenaics those arms against the accidents and events of life by means of which, by long premeditation, they break the force of all approaching evils.

And at the same time I think that those very evils themselves arise more from opinion than nature, for if they were real, no forecast could make them lighter.”

In his letters to Lucilius, Seneca echoes this sentiment by saying, “He robs present ills of their power who has perceived their coming beforehand."

Elsewhere, he writes, “I will conduct you to peace of mind by another route: if you would put off all worry, assume that what you fear may happen will certainly happen.

Whatever the evil may be, measure it in your own mind, and estimate the amount of your fear.

You will soon understand that what you fear is either not great or not of long duration.”

But this technique is not just for use when times are tough, but when things are going well, too.

In Epistles 18.6, he says, “It is in times of security that the spirit should be preparing itself to deal with difficult times; while fortune is bestowing favors on it then is the time for it to be strengthened against her rebuffs.

In the midst of peace, the soldier carries out maneuvers, throws up earthworks against a non-existent enemy and tires himself out with unnecessary toil in order to be equal to it when it is necessary.

If you want a man to keep his head when the crisis comes, you must give him some training before it comes.

In other words, if we wish to be mentally tough and resilient, we need to train ourselves to endure possibly negative outcomes, just as an athlete trains themselves to be strong in the face of physical adversity.

Granted, the Stoic mindset can seem a little alien at times, and their advice may sound strange to modern ears.

Exactly how can you apply negative visualization in your own life—and how is it different from simply catastrophizing?

Think of the aim of the exercises as three-fold.

When you practice negative visualization, you are:

Increasing gratitude for what you have right now.

Desensitizing yourself to adversity and increasing your tolerance and resilience to it.

Allowing yourself to prepare for negative outcomes.

To hit all three aspects, here’s an exercise to try.

1.

Start by writing down one to three things that are very valuable to you, whether they’re material things like a house or a laptop, or something abstract like a relationship, good health, talents, or time.

This can also work well if you pick something that is currently causing you trouble.

2.

Once or twice a week, sit down somewhere quiet to meditate for five minutes on what your life would be like without these things.

How would you feel?

Explore the scenario in detail, pulling no punches.

3.

Then, dig deep and imagine what mental, physical, and emotional resources you could draw on to deal with such a loss.

In what ways might you be able to survive?

4.

Finally, end the exercise by thinking of a few ways you could minimize the loss of such a thing, should it ever happen for real.

After you contemplate loss in this way, is there something in your present behavior that needs to change?

End your meditation session with a quiet moment, letting your fresh insights sink in and welcoming a sense of tranquility.

Let’s consider an example.

Eve is having a difficult time with her job.

It’s not the best fit for her and is causing a lot of day-to-day stress that frequently makes her consider quitting for something less intense.

She begins to practice negative visualization twice a week, and one day, she picks “my job” as something to meditate on.

She has been in the habit of thinking negatively about this job for months now, but for five minutes, she does the opposite and considers what would happen if she suddenly lost this job tomorrow.

She explores the feelings that come up.

There’s relief, yes, but she also realizes that the sudden lack of salary would be terrifying, and that she’d have to hunt for a new job—also an awful prospect.

She pictures herself walking around her flat with little to do during the day, and imagines how she’d have to tighten her belt with spending until she secured another position.

She can also see, though, how she’d cope—she knows that with effort, persistence, and drawing on her various networks, she could find a new job, one way or another.

When she comes out of her meditation, she has a new, subtler perspective on the issue.

Though the problems are all still there, she is able to actually be grateful for the job, warts and all, and sees that her position is not so bad as she thought it was.

She decides to take action.

She will quit her job, but she will do so strategically.

She commits to getting her resume up to scratch and start looking for possible positions, all without leaving the comfort of her current job just yet.

The next day, all the same work stresses and irritations are there, just as they were before, but Eve is less bothered by them, more assured about her own ability to manage any outcome, and actively shaping a future outcome she’d most prefer.