And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking…
Lately, I’ve been reading Seneca as part of my exploration of Stoicism. As I get older and weepier, I’m drawn to philosophical things. I’m going to be freaking 50 years old in just over a year. If I were to die today, I would not want to go gently into that good night, but I would die satisfied. My life is awesome and I have a wonderful family and children. We live a life of adventure and I have a deeply meaningful career. Still, I want more! MORE!
I watched the video below and it made me pause a bit. I realized that I could squeeze more out of life if I paid attention to where I was wasting my time, so I wrote down in my journal a few big items that I need to work on. I recommend you journal AND watch the video below. I’ve added my keynotes for your reference below:
To live well we must be constant students of life
- Seneca’s essay “On the shortness of life” reminds us that time is a non-renewable resource
- Treat time as a commodity, people guard their property but squander time
- The amount of time we get is uncertain, you could die at 20 or 100 years old
- Death creeps up on time wasters
- Make the most of time, it is an amplifier when used properly
Don’t invest your time preparing for life
- Seneca pushes us to live right now and not to delay happiness
- Your typical life is work till 60 years old, retire, and then be happy. Why wait for happiness?
- What usually happens is you are too old to enjoy life when you retire and regret not making the most of life
- Plan the big things in life but don’t delay living your life
Live life for YouR own self
- Being busy with things we don’t like is the greatest distraction of your life
- We waste time at jobs we don’t like, relationships we’re not happy in, etc
- Invest your time into making a life worth living
Practice Premeditatio Malorum
- While you waste your time by procrastinating, life goes on
- Researchers call the dissonance of “short-term gratification vs long-term commitments” as time inconsistency
- To fight this, use Premeditatio Malorum which is a form of negative visualization
- Think of what could go wrong with your long-term task and then make plans to achieve it. This will offset the distractions
Make Long Term Rewards Immediate
- The need to procrastinate is the most powerful RIGHT at the start of work
- When rewards are years away (i.e. diploma, career, et), you tend to procrastinate
- To overcome, you must bundle a reward at the start of the task
- You can eat a piece of cheesecake when you lost 10lbs or give yourself time to browse the web once you finished those pesky spreadsheet tasks
Make the Most of your Free Time
- Too often we waste our free time with stupid stuff. Gossiping, drinking at the bar, etc
- There’s plenty of time to do everything we want if we just stop wasting our free time
- We work hard to earn money and free time, so why waste that precious free time
- Use your lunch hour to explore the city, write in a journal, play an instrument, read, etc
- To beat mediocrity and start living your life, make the most of your free time
Spend time reflecting on your past
- Present time is transitory (it’s moving), the Future is uncertain, and the past is unalterable
- Seneca says to pay attention to the past, so you can be effective today
- Personal note: Journaling is a wonderful way of capturing the past
Stop Wasting Time in Life’s Trivialities
- We are all guilty of wasting our time on trivialities (Social Media)
- Social Media sucks your time away
- When you’re happy, you fill your time with activities that are valuable and meaningful to the vision you want for your life
Invest your time creating new memories
- While you preoccupy your time with trivialities, death approaches that you can’t escape
- Invest your time into creating new memories and philosophies
- Memory is more enduring than grief (Ed. Very true. I call it Adventuring)
- Memories may be fleeting but they deliver more happiness than anything else
- Do yourself a favor and take on challenges and adventures, learn to play music, travel, etc
Invest your time in Philosophies
- The Study of Philosophy is the most invaluable teacher
- Study as much philosophy (current, past, etc) as you can because it will help you in your life
- Your life will expand and your wisdom will grow
- A Philosopher is a lover of wisdom: truth, virtue, life, and death
