Hello friend, in this article I’m posting one chapter from my series of posts covering 39 pieces of the pithiest Stoic wisdom.
Let’s get into it.
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” – Seneca The Younger
In this brave new world in which we live, we have more freedom than ever, yet at the same time, we are the most constrained people ever to exist.
I know it’s a strange dichotomy, but it’s true.
Technologically speaking and financially, many of us are doing well, and medical advances are helping us live longer (but not necessarily healthier).
Yet at the same time, most of us are glued to our phones 24/7, are in jobs where we’re wage slaves and have little free time to pursue what we find meaningful.
How do we implement this advice in a world that abhors it?
First, we need to reduce the wasted time in our lives as much as possible.
We do that by honestly answering the question: What matters in my life and what doesn’t?
For example, this is what matters to me:
I want to be healthy, have good relationships with family and friends, pursue my hobbies, such as reading, writing, and working out, build a great life, and be in control of my emotions and finances.
What I don’t find important is: doom scrolling on social media, watching porn, drinking heavily, smoking, taking drugs, basically anything that makes me worse or has a negative impact on others.
If you don’t know what’s important to you, then start narrowing down what’s not.
By ruling out what’s not important or how not to act (via negativa), you stumble on what is important.
My definition of a fulfilling life is knowing your priorities, ruthlessly pursuing them, and avoiding anything that obstructs you from focusing on them.
How I use this advice:
1. I set my priorities. The main things I prioritise now are reading and writing daily, working out, going on daily walks and doing transcendental meditation. I track these habits on the author James Clear’s Atoms app ( I highly recommend it).
2. Once I’ve completed my priorities for the day, no time has been wasted. If I’ve done everything I set out to do on a given day, why would I feel like I’ve wasted time for not doing more?
The Problem With Hustle Culture
There’s a common narrative I see on social media, and that narrative goes like this:
“Always be working and grinding, if Elon Musk can work 100 + hour work weeks, I should be able to as well.”
Hustle culture is well-intentioned, but the problem is that many people heed the advice without having clear priorities.
So what do they do?
They start crazy morning routines, such as going in an ice bath before 5 a.m.
We do have a lot of time, but if we don’t use a chunk of that time to pursue our goals, our time will ultimately be wasted.
Alternatively, if you have set priorities that you focus on and accomplish daily or (most days), you will rarely waste time because you mostly achieve what you set out to do.
Wasted time= regularly not pursing and not accomplishing your goals and life ambitions.
Not wasting time = accomplishing your priorities for the day, then playing board games or video games or whatever you like to do, have fun!
Why Do So Many Of Us Waste Time?
I think it’s because we set unrealistic goals for ourselves.
For example, when it comes to writing, I make it easy to sit down and write because I have a minimum quota of 300 words per day ( I got this advice from Anne Lamott in her book Bird by Bird).
If you try to do too much too soon, you’re destined to give up on your goals and quit.
Alternately, if you make slow progress, e.g., writing 300 words per day ( if your goal is to be a writer), over the course of years, you’d have made significant progress.
As a rule of thumb, slow progress is the best progress.
I’ll use working out as an example. If you try to work out too much too soon, you’ll get injured and thus quit striving for your goal (the goal of getting in good shape).
Yet if instead you get one rep stronger than your last workout and continue this progress over the long term, you’ll likely have a physique like Arnold Schwarzenegger ( before he was on steroids) or look like a Victorias secret model ( for my female readers).
In Brief, Human Lives Are Short
But why do some people succeed beyond their wildest dreams, and why do some people not?
It comes down to consistency and luck.
The successful people are willing to be consistent and stick to their priorities no matter what. Over time, these people also get lucky ( they create their own luck through consistency and hard work).
The artist Pinkpantheress decided she wanted to make it in the music industry, so what did she do?
She started to consistently produce and upload songs to social media (platforms like TikTok).
She started to get good, and people began to notice. Now, she’s one of the hottest properties in the music world.
She was consistent in her ability to focus on her priorities, which led her to create her own luck by producing some angelic songs. My favourite one of her songs is “Just for Me.”
You have a choice:
1. Proactively make the most of your life and focus on your carefully selected priorities.
2. Live an unguided, random, reactive life.
Think hard about your choice.
And think now.
Time can drag us along like a violent river current.
If we don’t make the most of our lives now, when will we?
If you look at all the most successful people in the world, you’ll realise they’re very good at one or several things.
Why are they good?
Because they had priorities and were focused enough on them to get really good.
For example, JK Rowling’s main priority was writing, which led her to become the most famous writer in the world.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s main priority was working out at the gym, leading him to become the best bodybuilder on the planet multiple times.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s main priority is football, which has enabled him to become one of the greatest footballers ever.
You get the point.
If you had to take only one thing away from this chapter, let it be this:
A directed life is better than a random one. A life focused on some goal gives your life purpose, whereas an aimless life leaves a vacuum, which your mind abhors and creates a sense of meaninglessness. I believe this vacuum in one’s life has led to the poor mental health epidemic we’re currently seeing throughout the world.
Carl Jung said “I have observed that a directed life is in general better , richer and healthier than an aimless one, and that it is better to go forwards with the stream of time than backwards against it.”
And Marcus Aurelius said “If you don’t have a consistent goal in life, you can’t live it in a consistent way.”
These pieces of wisdom ponder on the same thing.
Having a goal to work towards.
We all require something to get out of bed for if we want to live healthily, happily and like Marcus said, consistently in this world.
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