Something Bad Happened, What now?

Thyson Marcellin
Sep 4, 2018 · 3 min read

How people think about what’s happening to them has always intrigued me. Specifically, the differences in thoughts from one person to another.

Two people can go through the same event but have different thoughts and reactions.

The intriguing part is that those thoughts and reactions can dictate what happens next for those individuals. This is why it’s important for us to think and react in a way that benefits our lives.

Somebody who realized the importance of this was Marcus Aurelius, the former emperor of Rome and most powerful person in the world in his time.

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman empire from 161–180 AD. He was the last of the rulers known as “The Five Good Emperors”. His death marked the end of the longest period of peace in the empire.

Being the most powerful person on the planet is a heavy responsibility. One way that Aurelius dealt with it is through writing notes to himself about how to think and act in life.

These notes, now called Meditations, are considered one of the greatest works of ancient philosophy.

In it he talks about how he deals with unfortunate events happening:

“So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to endure and prevail is great fortune”

it’s all in how you think

What I understood from this passage is that you choose what you want to focus on. The misfortune of the event OR how awesome it will be to endure and overcome the event. Through doing the latter you can turn an unlucky event into a fortunate one.

Although this is a nice thought it doesn’t really change how terrible it feels when something bad happens. But I think that framing events in this way actually has practical value when applied to situations.

Let me explain

Let’s take a specific event that could happen to anyone. Like losing your job.

What happens next?

Well it really depends on the person. If you observed what happened to 1000 people who lost their jobs you would see many different things happen next.

Some people would develop new skills and re-enter the workforce. Some would start an entrepreneurial venture. Some people’s marriages may end or they could develop addictions. Both positive and negative things could happen from one unlucky event.

Let’s classify these observations as a RANGE OF OUTCOMES.

We can’t control the events so the question becomes:

How can we end up on the positive end on the range of outcomes?

I think the answer (at least partially) lies in how we think and subsequently react to these events.

Aurelius’ attitude on focusing on enduring and prevailing provides a great mental framework for increasing the chances of experiencing the positive end of the range. Which is really all we can hope for when bad things happen.

The takeaway is that when shit happens (which it will), shift your focus off how unlucky you are and dial in on how you are going to conquer your situation and how much better of person you will be for having prevailed.

It doesn’t mean you wont be stressed or experience pain, but you will put yourself in the right mental place to make the most of your situation.


Thanks for reading!! Please SHARE with if you enjoyed. Have an awesome day!!

Check out my website: http://provokeandmuse.com/

Check out my Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHOD1yCswu094HBSxe7uHbQ

Thyson Marcellin

Written by

I like to write out my thoughts. Some of them make sense. http://provokeandmuse.com

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