Welcome to Stoic Snippets,
The track that is short in time,
But not in depth.
You become what you give your attention to.
Epictetus.
The world used to be divided into those who had access to knowledge and those who didn't.
Now,
It's not about what access to information you have,
But rather,
What information you can ignore.
There is a barrage of information that is thrown your way every single day.
More than you could ever use,
And certainly more than you ever want.
Some of it good,
A lot of it bad.
The superpower of today is being able to control where you put your attention.
The truth is,
There has always been distraction.
And think of that word.
Distraction.
Traction being the thing that gives you purchase,
That allows you to move forward.
The negative prefix,
Dis,
Means to be without.
So distraction is literally defined as things that keep you from moving forward.
It seems so much more sinister like that,
Doesn't it?
Your vice,
Like doom scrolling,
Are no longer just bad habits.
They are competitors for your future self and getting to where you want to be.
Now,
In order to get anywhere,
You have to know where you are heading,
Which is why Seneca himself points out this,
With no port in mind,
No wind is favorable.
But assuming you already have this place in mind,
This north star to aim towards,
How do you then remember to forget what is unnecessary or superfluous?
How do you tune into the signal and ignore the noise?
How do you beat distraction,
Is what I'm saying.
Well,
You need to take control of your attention,
Which,
By the way,
Is the currency of time,
And if the Stoics taught us anything,
It's that time is precious.
Seneca here again.
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 of misers.
So as you take on today,
Firstly,
Know where you are heading,
And with that in mind,
Protect your attention and guard your time.
These are both limited and extremely valuable.
Do this to make the most of your day,
This day,
And everyone going forward.
Good luck out there.
By the way,
If you're looking for a good place to put your attention,
Then I'll check out my profile page to see the new retreats that I have to offer,
Or the courses in Stoicism.
If you enjoyed this,
You'll love both of those.
Speak soon.
