why do you postpone yourself

2,000 years ago, the Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote this. It's still one of the most relatable and raw insights in 2024.

Keep what is really yours, and you cannot begin too early — Seneca

TikTok. No. Not the app on your phone. It’s the clock on your wall ticking because you’re wasting time.

Why do you postpone yourself?

Time.

Today.

Now.

That’s all you have.

It’s one of the few things in life that you have complete control over. And how you spend your time is wholly within your control.

But most people fail to respect their time. I’m one of them.

We trade our life today for a tomorrow that houses our hope.

One of the main ways people postpone life is by working a job that doesn’t make them happy. I’m not saying that’s the case for everyone. But for many of us, including myself, we know exactly where we’ll be when the clock ticks between the hands 9 and 5. At our desk. Working for someone else. Lost in time.

Everyone around us lives like this. So, it feels normal. It feels like it’s our only choice. No one else is complaining.

Why can’t I just get on with it?

That’s how adult life is, I’m told.

But as I get older, I’m detecting a desperate desire to control my time. I want to live in alignment with my priorities and curiosities.

Maybe I will be able to control my time some day.

But it’s not guaranteed.

I’m alive today.

I could be dead tomorrow.

Postpone Your Life, Be Miserable

It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long if you know how to use it — Seneca

Truth is, I’m very tired of being a robot.

I don’t want to be a robot anymore.

Robots don’t have emotions.

They feel nothing.

Most days, my happiness feels robotic. I must program myself to remember everything I have. I tune myself to believe that my life is actually very good.

That doesn’t feel natural.

It feels robotic.

People say that a job shouldn’t define your happiness.

But it’s hard to be happy when I feel like I lack purpose. It’s even harder to be happy when I’m fully aware that I could be doing so much more with my time. And it’s torturing to crawl into bed at night knowing I will choose to repeat the exact same thing tomorrow.

In the end though, it’s a choice that I decide to make each day.

And deciding to postpone myself is causing a lot of disorder and disappointment.

Reject the Script, Write Your Own

You must consider whether it is not better to do what is right, even if you offend a few, than to do what is wrong in order to gain the favor of many — Seneca

Don’t be the odd one out.

Don’t take risks.

Be safe.

That’s what we’re told.

Eventually, you’ll be 60 years-old. Then it will all be worth it. You will have the time to relax. I don’t want to relax when I can barely move. I’ll probably have a prosthetic arm by then. I guess I’ll forever be a robot.

Don’t conform to society’s expectations of you.

Do what you want.

All you require to accomplish what you truly desire in life is a direction, focus, patience, and a lot of effort.

When you take the time to start writing your own script, the universe will begin to send you signals that you’re on the right path. Eventually, you’ll stumble on what you’ve been looking for.

Don’t Look For Luck, Make Your Own

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity — Seneca

In this process, there is no such thing as luck.

If you find a needle in a haystack, it’s not because of pure luck. You found it because you went out looking for it.

Luck finds its way to those who go out and create opportunities for themselves.

Luck is a result of hard work.

I’d rather try find that needle and fail than live the rest of my life wondering what might have been if I just put the work in.

You’ve got to try to find that needle.

But you’re only going to be able to find that needle if you stop postponing yourself and put the time in.

Stop Postponing, Start Living

People tell me there’s a right time for everything in life.

There is no right time.

There is only a time.

And only you know when that time is.

You can do something when you feel prepared. Or, you can do it when you’re as scared as a snowman in a sauna.

The cold water doesn’t get warmer the longer you wait.

Stop postponing yourself in the hope of a better tomorrow.

Only the present moment is guaranteed.

Write your own story.

In 20 years, you can look back and be proud of yourself.

• Failure is only an experience at a certain point in time.

• Failure teaches you what you need to know so that you can succeed next time.

Unless you want to be one of those people on their death beds that says ‘I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself’, ‘I wish I took more risks’, ‘I wish I let myself be happier’, you must stop postponing yourself.

Time waits for no one.

Are you postponing yourself?

How so?

Let me know in the comments below.

~ Stefano

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