Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (September 26, 2021)

Hello there,

For this week’s exercise let us look at some words from Seneca on the Brevity of Life III.1:

“We’re tight-fisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers.”

As you go through your day there will be countless interruptions (cravings, emails, visitors, texts, posts, etc). We jump at the opportunity to give our time for these things because we think they are important. But Seneca reminds us that a philosopher knows their default state should be one of reflection and inner awareness. We have read the texts and done the reflections and would all agree that a few minutes of contemplation is worth more than any text, post, meeting or report. We should also remain uncomfortably aware of how little time we are given and how quickly it depletes.

So this week, be mindful about TIME that is our most valuable asset. Write it on a piece of post-it and leave it where you can see it. This week, do what you must to keep in mind that we cannot buy more time, but we can only work towards wasting as little of it as possible. If you can switch 5 minutes from social media to an introspective reflection, then you are more virtuous than you would have been otherwise. Every little bit counts!

As always, much love to you all and I wish you a wise, tranquil and productive week.

Anderson Silver

(Author of “Your User’s Manual” and “Vol 2: Your Duality Within”)