“At this moment you aren’t on a journey, but wandering about, being driven from place to place, even though what you seek — is found in all places. Is there any place more full of confusion than the Forum? Yet even there you can live at peace, if needed.”
SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 28.5b-6a
The right environment will not unlock what you’re trying to unlock. The right location, or the right setup, or the right timing — none of these are the key to your success. These are simply distractions that we tell ourselves, excuses for not getting started.
A better setting will not help you do more, focus better, or love more fully. Why? Because happiness is within, and the fulfillment needed to reach that happiness requires real, hard work. That work can happen anywhere. It’s not dependent on the right conditions, that’s just your mind trying to fool you.
If you’re waiting for the stars to align and everything to be “just so”, then you’re waiting for perfection, and you’re going to be waiting for a long time. This is an obstacle that your mind has thrown in your way, and you need to identify it as such and not be fooled.
Do your work now, exactly where you are. With the dog barking. With the baby crying. Before you’ve paid off your debt. Without permission, without checking first, without doing research for the umpteenth time. Without the perfect office chair or throw rug. Just do it. Take imperfect action. That’s what all successful people do — they just get started.
“The good life is anywhere”, just like the name of today’s chapter in The Daily Stoic. So get to work!
