The Stoic Technique of Negative Visualization - Book Club #21
Hey everyone! I hope you all have had a great week and Mother's day celebration as well! I was traveling again and refrained from posting because I knew that I would have trouble responding to the comments, but I'm finally back home now for the next few weeks and I'll be able to resume my normal schedule of 1x a day! I look forward to hearing from all of you!
While I was away, I continued to read this amazing book and have written a lot of notes! Irvine's ability to draw you into stoic practices and connect them to real life as well as history is captivating and really practical. He teaches us the history of stoicism while also bridging the gap from the ancient Stoics to modern practitioners.
Today I want to talk about a Stoic technique called Negative Visualization. At first, Negative Visualization seems counterintuitive - if you're looking for a technique to enhance your ability to be grateful and optimistic about the world, your first choice probably wouldn't be something that starts with "Negative".
"What's the worst that can happen?"
Current Book & Quotes From: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William Irvine
Anyone going through life will contemplate the bad things that could potentially happen in their life. Most of the time, the goal of this contemplation is to try to prevent bad things from happening - for example, you may contemplate someone breaking into your house and the result of this contemplation is the resolution that you ought to lock your doors and windows each night.
Regardless of the actions that you may take to try and prevent bad things from happening, some will inevitably happen anyway.
“Seneca therefore points to a second reason for contemplating the bad things that can happen to us. If we think about these things, we will lessen their impact on us when, despite our efforts at prevention, they happen: “He robs present ills of their power who has perceived their coming beforehand.”1 Misfortune weighs most heavily, he says, on those who “expect nothing but good fortune.”
Seneca's second reason for contemplating these bad things is so that we can lessen their impact on our lives when some of them inevitably fall through the cracks. Irvine also offers a third reason for contemplating bad things:
“there is a third and arguably much more important reason. We humans are unhappy in large part because we are insatiable; after working hard to get what we want, we routinely lose interest in the object of our desire.”
“Rather than feeling satisfied, we feel a bit bored, and in response to this boredom, we go on to form new, even grander desires.”
This is a huge point for me and I think it will also have a large impact on your life and thinking as well. Everywhere we look today we hear about people who are trying to get somewhere and who are trying to achieve something. While there's nothing wrong with wanting to do great things in your life and accomplish outlandish goals, there is a signifcant detriment to our happiness if we can't appreciate the things that we've already done and goals we have already accomplished.
Hedonic Adaptation:
“The psychologists Shane Frederick and George Loewenstein have studied this phenomenon and given it a name: hedonic adaptation. To illustrate the adaptation process, they point to studies of lottery winners. Winning a lottery typically allows someone to live the life of his dreams. It turns out, though, that after an initial period of exhilaration, lottery winners end up about as happy as they previously were. They start taking their new Ferrari and mansion for granted, the way they previously took their rusted-out pickup and cramped apartment for granted.”
This lottery example is a great illustration of our insatiability but Irvine offers another example that is even more relevant to each and every one of us: Consumer Purchases.
Think back to the last time you made a significant purchase. You might have bought an expensive handbag, a new laptop, a brand new smart tv, etc.
After making that purchase, did you set your sights on something even better? Did you think to yourself: "Maybe I should've gotten that more expensive laptop, or maybe I should have gotten that bigger tv, maybe that other handbag would be better."
Irvine calls this a satisfaction treadmill. The majority of people out there are unhappy when they think of all the things that they want in life and the second that they finally get what they originally wanted, they're already beginning to restart the process on yet another want that they have.
Negative Visualization
So how can we overcome our insatiable desires and learn to appreciate what we already have? The Stoics have an answer:
“They recommended that we spend time imagining that we have lost the things we value—that our wife has left us, our car was stolen, or we lost our job. Doing this, the Stoics thought, will make us value our wife, our car, and our job more than we otherwise would. This technique—let us refer to it as negative visualization—was employed by the Stoics at least as far back as Chrysippus. It is, I think, the single most valuable technique in the Stoics’ psychological tool kit.”
If we spend a little time thinking about what it would be like to lose the things that we enjoy in our life, then we may come to appreciate their existence in the present moment.
Now, I still have big ambitions and I'm sure that many of you have big ambitions as well. The advice of the ancient Stoics is not to give up on these ambitions and live a life of poverty (as many people have a misconception that this is their true aim). The advice of the ancient Stoics is to fully appreciate and be happy with what you have while you're also in pursuit of the things that you wish to achieve in life.
The only way to be happy in life is to be grateful for all the blessings that you already have. If you live your life in a constant pursuit of more "stuff" then you will find yourself on the satisfaction treadmill.
I think I will do a part 2 on this topic, there's a lot more I want to say about Negative Visualization, but I want to keep this on the shorter side. Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow.
Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
What do you think of the negative visualization technique? Do you think it could help you live a happier and more fulfilled life?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
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Hmm. I have never heard about negative visualization. I always thought negative thoughts and visualizations would bring you closer to those thoughts and visualizations actually happening. A lot of people would say that we become what we think, so I always tried to visualize and think positive stuff. But, seems like negative visualizations might have some good outcomes as well. I will surely search for more information on this topic, cuz it sounds interesting!
Yes @trendo! It definitely seems counterintuitive at first. People always talk about envisioning a good outcome in order to get a good outcome, but what Stoics are advocating with this is to envision the bad outcome so that you can not only prepare for and try to avoid it, but also so that you may enjoy the present moment that much more because the bad outcome isn't yet a reality. My next post will talk more about this in specfic terms, thanks for dropping by!
Ha... This is perfect @khaleelkazi. Keep posting like this and you will develop of community of people who read and think. Seneca is powerful and takes time to digest. I am going to read this book now:
I thought about the quotes you mentioned and the question.
I see some good things we can pick up for the Stoics negative visualization.
First, it is so true. Everything will be gone. Words are made like this. You can add a negative prefix and negate the word but the word still exists to some point.
The true life application is getting a new toy. The kid waits and waits for months for his or her birthday and the day after the present is open it is broken.
We have a feeling all the crypto will one day rocket to the moon so we hold and hold. The value that we put on it is gone and it all looks like a joke. We should be able to visualize that it can be gone.
There is one case of a user opening the computer to check his crypto and suddenly the numbers went to zero. Visualizing this buts objects and possessions in perspective. They are nothing. I'm not completely stoic. It is great to use what we have and enjoy life. I think it would be a good jester for you to put on a contest to support Steemit. We need a boost to keep this platform. If you get a chance please check out what @steemitblog posted and also @aggroed's contest.
https://steemit.com/steem/@steemitblog/ned-talks-steem-steemit-and-smts
https://busy.org/@aggroed/1-millionth-steem-account-scavenger-hunt-300-sbd-up-for-grabs
Thanks @mineopoly! That is a great thing in my eyes and Steem definitely has the community to support strong and deep thinkers!
The book is amazing, I've been making my way through it, but I'm making sure to take enough time to re-read certain parts and really sit and think about their meaning. The author really makes you question everything! - The mark of a true philosopher!!
That's a great point and a great connection to crypto! It would absolutely serve people well to remember that crypto (and really everything in life) as being very fragile. The Stoics would advise us to focus on things that are within our complete control (of which, crypto going up is not within our complete control) rather than on things that aren't. Focusing on the work we do within crypto communities is the most important part, we need to enjoy the journey of making cryptos mainstream while also reminding ourselves that it can be over tomorrow and we must savor the moments as they pass!
Ahh yes, I was planning on checking Ned's talk and I'll also check out that other competition as well! I've been helping a few friends get set up with Steem recently, there's been some great changes along with the exciting news of 1M accounts!
Thanks for your input @khaleelkazi. The competition I mentioned probably is over... but it is the initiative I wanted you to see by whales to get Steemit out of steemit.com and into the whole mainstream social media.
I commend your attitude recently in the use of Steem. But honestly I question myself and the time I put into this network. I try to convince myself that I enjoy it but other times I feel driven by habit to post or by desire for rewards.
I really do have everything in life but this network has provided a little extra in friends, communication, self reflection and understanding the digital world.
You have been a good friend and sometimes I wonder how you are getting along. I remember when I was your age. I was a bit of a "trouble maker" just starting to get straightened out. I see you have a lot of potential to do something really great for yourself and the world. I hope to see it happen.
peace
Ahh gotcha, I will definitely still check it out! Yeah, I also know what it feels like to wonder what the value of Steem is and if working on the ecosystem is valuable not just in terms of financial gain but also in terms of real-world value.
The answer that I've come up with for myself is especially more important to me after reading more about Stoicism. I'm working on an article right now related to this book that will talk about the difference between having complete control and having some, but not complete control.
I believe that it's in our complete control to have personal value on the work we do - that personal value can be derived from both financial gain as well as personal development from the journey (the actual work it takes to think about and formulate a post). I for example take pride and value in both the monetary gains that I've made on steem as well as the "intellectual gains" I've made on steem as a result of posting, working on my account, and just spending time on the network. We have to remember that Steem was created as a social network that also allows us to earn money for our time spent.
I think the upcoming changes to Steem (namely SMTs, Hive, and account-based voting) will radically improve our experience on the blockchain and will allow us to specialize in different fields. I expect these changes to also create more opportunities for everyone and will improve the quality of the platform as well.
For now I see these past several months and the coming few months as a great opportunity to build up 3 major things that will influence "success" on the platform:
But again, I really feel like some changes are in order before the platform can really thrive as the content-leader that I know it can/should be. Dlive is really catching my attention lately as they've made AMAZING strides to improve their platform. I'm extremely impressed with the progress they're making. I honestly think that their platform is already getting to the point where it can compete with Twitch for viewership (and we've seen a few mid-sized Twitch stars come over).
Wow that was long, I guess there's a lot to say about the state of Steem and where we think it's headed!!!
You have been a great friend on here as well and one of the most consistent people I've seen on Steem, I commend you for that! I know that the future will be bright for Steem and these changes will allow all of us to usher in a better world of opportunities for everyone who decides to join the platform!
P.S. Something else that's been catching my attention are business deals on Steem (B2B and B2C), it seems like a very promising way to do business because of accountability to the blockchain (especially if we can get an Escrow system). DLive recently added a type of escrow payment system!
I agree with the negative visualization portion. I lost a lot of what I had from items out of my current control. I have gathered it back and appreciate it more.
That’s fantastic and the key to being happy! Love what you have and what’s in your control!!
Firstly, I’m gonna say welcome back my friend. We all miss you and it’s good to be back home, on steemit . Cause to me steemit is home , hope you had fun .
This is so true from the explanation of it , human quickly adapt to conditions not everyone tho but I get the life application of this with the illustration of lottery winners
This is deep and it’s a wise one there . You see we have to value what we have and forget those we lost , onr should let ambition drive one and not be weighed down by negativity.
This is deep knowledge, life lesson. This is amazing, you made quite a welcome back with this post. This is amazing
Thank you! It's great to be back and I'm seeing a lot of great content out there for me to catch up on!
Absolutely, our ability to adapt to whatever life throws at us physically, mentally and emotionally is both a blessing and a curse! Adapting can be a great skill, but it can also be something that causes you jump on the satisfaction treadmill!
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the post! I look forward to hearing more from you!
It’s very useful in any sense. Just like in programming, you have to prevent all the possible ifs so that when the system is running, you can’t or you may encounter less errors.
Thanks for sharing this @khaleelkazi. This reminds me of something in the past. ;-)
Glad to hear that you find it useful! Thanks for your kind words!
Nahh no worries. Your post is just kind of a real thing! Thank you for sharing also. :-)
Thank you :)
Great article..I appreciate your writing.
Thanks for sharing wonderful writing.
Carry on your life
I appreciate your reading! Any thoughts on the QOTD?
Hi @kaleelkazi! How are you? I hope you are also fine, and have a great week. I have not seen your post for a long time. In this life sometimes it happens not like what we want, but it is life, sometimes there is when we are hard, and there is in when we are happy. Whatever we do, it's important we always have to think negatively, and always focus on one goal, that way, I'm sure, whatever we do will definitely get a satisfactory result. Thanks for sharing, and hopefully you will be more successful to work,,,, :)
I am great, I hope you have a great week as well! Yes, I've been out of commission for a short time, but I am getting back to the swing of things! Thanks for reading!
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At last you come back.thanks,and really a amazing article .thanks for sharing.
Haha thanks, yeah I'm glad to be back to a more normal routine again!
welcome to us.
Thank you :)
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