Premeditatio malorum: the premeditation of adversity

Practiced by the Stoics, this exercise consists in calmly picturing, in advance, the setbacks a day or a project might bring. Far from pessimism, it defuses anxiety and trains you to separate what is up to you from what is not. Today it helps you face an interview, a trip, or a hard decision without being paralyzed by the unexpected.

1. Pick an upcoming situation that worries you (a meeting, a deadline, a conversation).
2. List in writing the plausible mishaps: delay, refusal, breakdown, criticism, the other person's silence.
3. For each one, ask: is this up to me? Note the part that lies in your choices and the part that does not.
4. Prepare a concrete response for the part that is up to you, and formulate a sentence of acceptance for the rest.
5. Close the exercise: you have rehearsed the ordeal and can now act with a lighter mind.

as needed, the evening before an important event, 10 minutes

The aim is to prepare, not to ruminate. If the exercise feeds anxiety rather than easing it, cut it short and focus only on the responses you can prepare.