I see worry a little differently. For me, worry is not preparation. It is the mind imagining future events and treating them as real. These events have no past. They have no presence. They may never happen at all. When we assent to them, we can slide into fear, panic, and poor judgement. I think this is a mistake in thinking, not a skill.
Thinking ahead is something else. That is rational caution. We look at what is likely. We think through our response. We prepare ourselves to act well if those events do occur. This strengthens us. It is reason working in advance.
Worry is different. It pushes us towards false assent. Preparation helps us meet events with clarity. I do not think worry does.
Yes, one way of putting it is that worry serves a purpose, but that purpose is better served by caution. Stressing over the future often causes us to imagine possibilities that are not live or make value judgements about them that are incorrect.
This isn't the exact Stoic position, but one could see worry as a crude tool that plays an important rule – and eliminating it just because it is imperfect may be a mistake. Worry doesn't help us meet events with clarity, but it can help us meet events nonetheless.
Ultimately, we should develop rational caution and prudence as you say, but I do want to pushback against the tendency to see worry as useless.
I see worry a little differently. For me, worry is not preparation. It is the mind imagining future events and treating them as real. These events have no past. They have no presence. They may never happen at all. When we assent to them, we can slide into fear, panic, and poor judgement. I think this is a mistake in thinking, not a skill.
Thinking ahead is something else. That is rational caution. We look at what is likely. We think through our response. We prepare ourselves to act well if those events do occur. This strengthens us. It is reason working in advance.
Worry is different. It pushes us towards false assent. Preparation helps us meet events with clarity. I do not think worry does.
Yes, one way of putting it is that worry serves a purpose, but that purpose is better served by caution. Stressing over the future often causes us to imagine possibilities that are not live or make value judgements about them that are incorrect.
This isn't the exact Stoic position, but one could see worry as a crude tool that plays an important rule – and eliminating it just because it is imperfect may be a mistake. Worry doesn't help us meet events with clarity, but it can help us meet events nonetheless.
Ultimately, we should develop rational caution and prudence as you say, but I do want to pushback against the tendency to see worry as useless.
I can assent to that.
Love the reframe 👊🏻