Most people tend to look back on their failures only after they've happened. It’s a natural, almost instinctual reaction when life doesn’t go as planned.

They begin to ask themselves:

• “What did I do wrong?”
• “Is it really my fault?”
• “Why does this always happen to me?”

These questions swirl around in their minds, often leading to months of brooding, self-doubt, and regret.

Sometimes, they manage to extract valuable lessons from these experiences, lessons that help them avoid similar mistakes in the future.

Other times, they place the blame elsewhere—on a bad economy, on unforeseen circumstances, or on that one family member who seems to bring nothing but bad luck.

But what if I told you that the most successful people don’t wait for failure to knock on their door?

Instead, they anticipate it. They prepare for it. They do something called a pre-mortem.

The Concept of Pre-Mortem: Visualising the Worst-Case Scenario

A pre-mortem is the process of imagining that you’ve a...