“Work nourishes noble minds.”
SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 31.5
Explaining the quote above from today’s chapter, author Ryan Holiday draws upon something that I’ve noticed before and have discussed with my wife: when you don’t get anything done in a particular day, you end up feeling crummy.
When you don’t get any work done — whether it’s a traditional job, or an endeavor that you’ve set out for yourself — you end up with an uneasy feeling inside.
If you don’t go to the gym or exercise like you were supposed to, your soul will let you feel it! If you don’t complete any specific task that you ought to have completed, your heart will be heavy and just feel wrong in a subtle but noticeable way.
At the center of all these feelings? It’s the fact that you didn’t keep a promise to yourself. You told yourself (or you implicitly understood) that you were going to just put in good work today, that you were going to exercise today, that you were going to complete a specific task. And when you don’t keep that implicit promise, then you’ve let yourself down — and it’s a tangible and icky sensation.
How to make that feeling go away? You have to actually get things done. You have to work at whatever you’re supposed to be doing today. That’s because work is nourishment, as Seneca says above. It heals the mind and the soul to do what you’re supposed to do, to stay focused on the task at hand. And the opposite is true when you’re idle — you lose focus and desire and drive, and it sucks.
So get out there and work — get that nourishment! Do NOT hit that snooze button.
