Life is short, so in her book Reasons Not to Worry, Australian author Brigid Delaney coined the term ‘negative visualization’ which means we would be well-advised to visualize that every person that we love will die one day (this is actually common sense, yet everybody needs this reminder as this is the most effective way to explain why time is our most valuable resource). In this way, when that day comes, we wouldn’t be too shocked by death. This is a type of Stoic philosophy which makes us appreciate life much more. Indeed, we must make every day count and do what we love (including traveling the world) when we are still here! 😊
- Why does Stoicism work so well?
In my opinion, Stoicism is a very good school of thought because it is the western version of Buddhism. After reading many books about Stoicism, I can confirm that whenever I implement the ideas from this philosophy, my life has definitely improved.
According to Brigid Delaney, negative visualization helps us become more Stoic. For example, during recent years, I sometimes receive my mother’s photos via text messages & my mother lives overseas (she hasn’t had a chance to visit me due to the pandemic) – Oftentimes I feel nervous when I see her photos because I have realized that my mother has aged a lot. Because of Brigid Delaney’s advice, I have started to feel calmer – Now I have fully understood that I must cherish each day when I still have a mother. What’s more, I have to cherish each day when I’m still alive and my parents are still here as well. 😉
- How to make every day a perfect day:
Don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly not saying that perfection exists in this world. I mean there is a way to make every day meet our standards, as long as we know what our standards are & how to meet them!
For instance, my best friend Alexander’s paramount standards for a perfect day are:
1)Read a chapter of a meaningful book;
2)Walk in the park for 30 minutes;
3)Work for 4 hours;
4)Go to sleep before 11pm.
Alexander’s standards are clear and realistic. He says as long as these four standards are met each day, every day is a perfect day for him.
“Whenever I tell people that I only work for 4 hours a day, they are surprised by this standard,” says Alexander, “But in fact, we are not programmed to work for 8 hours a day. At least that’s not for me. That’s why I decided to run my own business – I need this flexibility. I’ve done my research: Working for 8 hours per day isn’t necessarily more productive than working for 4 hours a day. Truthfully, I’m very efficient.”
Alexander’s life has many other things going on, too, e.g., going to the movies on Friday night, visiting friends on Saturday, hanging out with his family on Sunday, traveling the world, etc. He also has various hobbies such as writing, art and music. In general, as long as the above-mentioned four key standards are met, other things in life are negotiable because he doesn’t have to do other activities every day.
- Have you traveled the world yet?
“I love traveling the world alone,” says my friend Star, “It’s just so comforting. I don’t want to travel with anyone else because I don’t want someone else to ruin my trip. I have visited many countries by myself & it’s fun!”
Sara is another friend of mine who quit her job in order to travel the world. She resigned not because she hated that job, but because she couldn’t stand the people that she was working with. “I could remove a co-worker that I really didn’t like from that place because technically, I was his boss,” says Sara, “However, if I remove him from that place, I still have to deal with my manager as well as my manager’s manager – those two people are also extremely difficult. So, I resigned without having a new job. I started to travel the world because I have worked so hard for decades and now I deserve some R & R.”
Indeed, who you work with is just as important as what you do. If you are happy with what you do as well as who you work with, you are able to stay with an employer for a long time. Otherwise, the company’s culture is probably not quite right, especially when the management team is inept. Frankly, Sara was in that situation because she was not allowed to interview her staff (her staff members were interviewed and hired by her very unintelligent line manager who couldn’t understand that if someone’s resume says he had 6 jobs in the past 3 years, something is probably wrong with him.) Although Sara loved the nature of the work, she decided to leave that organization because she fully understands that smelling the roses is much more meaningful and important than working with a group of people that she couldn’t respect. Interestingly, Sara has identified some fun things to do in terms of smelling the roses:
A) She reads a fashion magazine before going to sleep at night.
B)She drinks peppermint tea after getting up in the morning.
C)She wears very simple makeup – a tinted moisturizer and a lip balm only.
D)She listens to lofi music while driving.
“Having a morning routine helps you have a magnificent morning every day.”
