the Stoic premeditatio’s goal is to loosen our attachment to external events in general, from something as simple as breaking your favorite cup (to use Epictetus’s example from Week 3) to the death of a loved one. Since you’re only doing this for a day, we do not recommend starting with a serious situation.

This tendency to think that other people’s actions reflect their character while our own actions depend on circumstance is called the fundamental attribution error, a term first coined by psychologist Lee Ross.

Use this table to strategize how you can respond Stoically if things go wrong. Try this for up to three of your plans for the day.

There are countless other examples of this principle. You should not desire to be loved by your partner, but only to be the most lovable person you can be. You should not indulge an aversion to losing a match when you play a game or sport, but instead focus on playing to the best of your ability. Once you internalize the distinction between proper

This exercise, like many future exercises in this book, is bolstered by a technique called implementation intentions, which are a well-studied, effective way to increase the chances that you will remember to do something in a specific situation.1 Instead of intending to do something, tell yourself under what circumstances you will do it.

This book is, after all, a series of exercises to train your mind by thinking more precisely about what is worth pursuing, what you should avoid, and what it means to have a life worth living.

Now that you’ve listed some possibilities, choose a type of discomfort you’d like to focus on for the week. Here are some tips: Concentrate on something that happens often. Ask yourself: If you were able to wave a magic wand to make yourself completely resilient to this discomfort, would your life improve dramatically? If

For the next week, choose a time at the end of each day to think about someone you encountered who frustrated you or whom you perceived to do you wrong.

Method 2: Premeditate on others’ adversity. Now we’re shifting gears. So far this week you have focused on your own experiences. Today we’re expanding the power of premeditatio malorum to internalize the reality that you may be subject to unexpected misfortunes that happen to others.