It may be counter intuitive, but thinking of the worst thing that can happen makes you happier person.
This touches on Stoic philosophy, which has been my guiding worldview for a good 10 years or so now. If you do a search for “Memento Mori” there is a big rabbit hole of helpful applied philosophy that I suggest you go down. For now, let just me illustrate this single semi-Stoic idea that I believe will help you deal with difficult situations, relieve stress, and make you a happier person.
If you are constantly thinking of the worst thing that could happen, it actually leds to a very positive outlook on life. Here’s why: There are two outcomes:
Most of the time it won’t actually happen
When this happens, you feel lucky that it didn’t happen.
Public speaking is a huge fear that a lot of people have. So what’s the worse thing that could happen? Well, you could slip and fall on the way to the podium, hit your head and kill yourself. Ok, that’s extreme. Let’s back it up a bit.
A more likely bad outcome is that you could look like an idiot and embarrass yourself. If you go in thinking that this could happen and it doesn’t, even if you don’t wow the audience or give a memorable speech, it was a success!
When it does happen, you are prepared
Win win! Notice is said “when” not “if.” Though usually the worst thing doesn’t happen, there is a non-zero chance that it will.
Video of me crashing yesterday
Yesterday, I was on a tandem flight (paragliding as a passenger with someone else piloting). The pilot was inexperienced, so I knew I was taking a risk. He told me that though unlikely, it was a possible that we could land in the bushes. He then proceeded to tell me what I should do to minimize the impact.
And then – it actually happened! We ended up landing in the bushes and the flight ended seconds after launch. The result is that instead of breaking bones, I just had a few scrapes and bruises. Had he not worse-case-scenario’d it for me, I could have reacted in a way that made it worse, breaking bones, poking out an eye, or worse.