Brian Johnson shares a recent near-fall while rucking and a past wrist injury from Spartan training, then explores the Stoic practice of negative visualization. Imagining what could have gone wrong sharpens gratitude for what didn't. Johnson urges listeners to actively notice and thank the universe for disasters avoided.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Heroic Plus One. A little over five years ago, I slipped doing a wall traverse thing while training for a Spartan race. I fell and I shattered my wrist. Twenty screws, or was it twenty-one? I lose count. And a couple plates, or was it a few? Later, I was back in business. Thank God for modern medicine. I would have had my arm cut off about there without it. Now, a little over five minutes before I started typing this, I slipped. Well, walk rucking down a muddy sloping part of our trail and nearly fell, but I was able to catch myself as I slipped, and the only thing I had to worry about was a little mud on my shorts and a little more mud on my hand. Only since that time I fell doing a simple training exercise and shattered my wrist, I've become more attuned to all the times I narrowly avoid a potential catastrophe And I use those moments to appreciate what didn't happen. You know what I'm talking about? The near fall on the hiking trail, the near accident when someone almost hits you while you're driving, and the countless other times when something bad could have happened, but it didn't. I try not to take those moments for granted anymore. And William B. Irvine talks about a related and similar Stoic exercise in his books. Check out the notes on the Stoic challenge for more. He calls it negative. Visualization. The basic idea? When you look at a loved one, he says, imagine them gone. How would your life be if they weren't part of it? That negative visualization is a very powerful way to appreciate the things and people you may take for granted in your life. And that's today's plus one. Life is amazing. You never know when something super challenging, even potentially catastrophic, can happen. So If you feel so inspired, use the near misses as a chance to be grateful today.
