It is easy to take what we have for granted. Consequently, after a long period in which nothing bad happens, a practicing Stoic might become complacent and forget to do negative visualization. This has happened to me on many occasions. Fortunately for us, the Stoic gods have a way of getting us to think about how things could be worse: they show us how they could be worse by presenting us with setbacks. In doing this, they are actually doing us a favor, since a setback, if we deal with it in the proper frame of mind, is likely to trigger in us a renewed appreciation of our life and
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