“Life without a design is erratic. As soon as one is in place, principles become necessary. I think you’ll concede that nothing is more shameful than uncertain and wavering conduct, and beating a cowardly retreat. This will happen in all our affairs unless we remove the faults that seize and detain our spirits, preventing them from pushing forward and making an all-out effort.”
SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 95.46
It took me a while to wrap my head around today’s quote. For some reason it was just tricky for me to understand. Ryan Holiday to the rescue! His book helped me decipher what Seneca is saying above.
Life is going to throw curveballs at you. Things are going to fall apart. Shit is going to hit the fan. You need to always have a plan so that when things do go south, you at least have something to fall back on. Otherwise you end up running away with your tail between your legs.
Having a plan will give you that self-confidence and tranquility that you need when you’re heading into an important event/meeting/game. You need to be at your best. The Daily Stoic today used an allegory from Bill Walsh the football coach to illustrate that building a plan in advance will reduce your stress on gameday.
The last part of the quote above talks about “remov[ing] the faults that seize and detain our spirits”. These are the voices in your head that are telling you that you’re going to fail, that you can’t do it, that you’re not good enough. These are the feelings of inferiority, imposter syndrome, and self-doubt.
We have to sweep these feelings right out of our minds. And how do we do that? By having a plan — because things will fall apart. Be ready.
