“I say, let no one rob me of a single day who isn’t going to make a full return on the loss.”
SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 1.11b
If you’re going to give a day of your life to someone, make sure it’s a fair trade based on full value. Your time is valuable, and should only be given to people who are going to use it appropriately and with respect for its value. That’s what Seneca is saying in The Daily Stoic today.
It’s not worth trading time for something that yields no return, no payoff. That is effectively the essence of ‘wasting time’. Don’t do it. Be stingy with your time instead.
Honor the sacredness of your time, and the fact that it’s limited, and the fact that you can’t get it back. If you’re going to give your time to someone else, at least make sure that you trade your time for full value, and not something meaningless.
Keep the small potatoes small, and only give your time to the important things. Because once your time is gone, it’s gone. It’s not coming back. And once you’re gone, you’re gone.
