This was the simplest use of Franklin’s journal. Research has shown that keeping a schedule is more effective than keeping a to-do list. When you carve out time for a specific activity or project, you’re far more likely to stick to it. I…
They regularly conducted an exercise known as premeditatio malorum, which translates to a premeditation of evils. The goal was to imagine the worst events that could possibly happen to them and then figure out the best way to prevent such an occurrence.
The ancient Stoics thought that this practice invited passivity into our lives. Such thinking encourages us to simply hope for things to get better instead of taking concrete action. And so, they went the other way.