“It’s ruinous for the soul to be anxious about the future and miserable in advance of misery, engulfed by anxiety that the things it desires might remain it’s own until the very end. For such a soul will never be at rest— by longing for things to come it will lose the ability to enjoy present things.”
Seneca the Younger
Something you probably hear all the time is to, “Live in the present.” Apart of Epectetus, Seneca has some really great concepts on this philosophy. Someone new should start with his collection of writings called, Letters from a Stoic. He has a lot of interesting perspectives on the shortness of life, warning us not to waste time should we only regret it.
The amount of distractions make it almost impossible for us to not waste our time, whether it be avoiding responsibilities or focusing on things outside of our control. We also have a tendency to focus our valuable time on things that aren’t good for our purpose in life. Spend time with your family and friends. Spend time working on yourself, but not on things that won’t help you grow. The better you are, the better those around you will be.
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