How to Prepare For Evils
We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events.
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“What is quite unlooked for is more crushing in its effect, and unexpectedness adds to the weight of a disaster. The fact that it was unforeseen has never failed to intensify a person’s grief. This is a reason for ensuring that nothing ever takes us by surprise. We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events.” - Seneca
Preparation is a way of living. You don’t just check it off once and move on. It’s a discipline that weaves itself through your work, thought, and attitude- especially in times of peace. For example, you’ll often face pressure- deadlines, criticism, politics, and stretches of labor that feel draining. You cannot avoid these life’s demands, but you can lessen them. The secret is to let the work improve you instead of resisting it, to work on it earlier instead of waiting. Offer the time, summon the effort, stay kind even when you’re tired. For what feels like a burden today becomes leverage tomorrow; competence multiplies into opportunities, endurance into freedom.
Wisdom is also knowing that preparation begins inside. Pay attention to your mindset, because your thoughts color the meaning of everything you do. If you frame challenges as unfair, you weaken yourself; if you see them as training, you grow stronger.
Keep death in view- not in a morbid way, but as a reminder that your days are numbered and risk is necessary. Knowing you have limited days frees you to be bold, to attempt more, to claim the greatness that will never come to the hesitant.
Life swings between good and bad fortune, and both are temporary. The wise response is to plan for the changes. Build contingencies- a financial cushion, a side project, a workout routine, a habit of constant learning. Raise your threshold for pain by practicing persistence in your craft, whether results come or not. Study areas where you’re most vulnerable so that uncertainty becomes less threatening. When you prepare this way, distractions lose their pull, comparisons look foolish, and your inner wealth grows.
Preparation is also about choosing what- and who- you will stand with. Protect your energy by keeping company with people who love and strengthen you. Commit to projects that matter, even if progress is slow. Make work now that can sustain you in the future, when life’s demands become overwhelming- so that you already have momentum on your side.
Above all, accept the price of freedom. There will be seasons when you must shoulder the burden of performance alone, when you’ll doubt yourself, when paying your dues feels unrewarding- even unfair. Pay it anyway. The cost is high, but the reward is independence- the ability to keep going when partners fall away, when plans fail, when fortune turns.
Preparation is the art of living with confidence, no matter what. And it’s why I aim to teach you to be all-rounded in aspects of life beyond Stoicism.
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P.P.S: Most people loved the series on How to Deepen Your Friendships, Part I, Part II & Part III. Also check out the practical entries on How To Deal With Toxic People, How to Process & Overcome Grief & How to Prevent and Overcome Burnout. Happy reading!
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Thanks a good read. I always say we know what’s to come. Especially with aging and change being a constant.