Stoicism promotes that we are each charged with understanding how to face life's challenges and avoid knee-jerk reactions. Stoicism tries to center us. And no result is to spend less time on frustration. But also to give ourselves that time back.
No person hands out money to passers by, but to how many do each of us hand over our lives! We are tight-fisted with property and money, yet we think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers.
Seneca - on the brevity of life
Although there are many places where this occurs, perhaps the worst is work. If we are lucky we enjoy what we do. But it is easy for work to take over our lives if we let it. And worse, giving up your time does not buy you respect or support, it simply sets expectations.
Look at what Elon Musk said to his employees. Elon Musk is nowhere near alone in these demands in tech positions, but he is exceptionally honest about them.
New Twitter CEO and sole director Elon Musk sent a companywide email to remaining employees of the social media business on Wednesday, demanding they commit to working “long hours at high intensity” or receive “three months of severance,” if they did not consent to these conditions, or support his vision for “Twitter ...Nov 16, 2022
Because one man gives away his time, or even hundreds of men give away their time - you must decide if you have the extra time to give up. Can you spare it from time with your family, your friends and your interests. And, if you spend it- know that is not replaceable. You can make more money. But you can't make more time.
PS - Doesn't that sound more intelligent than "When you die, no one says they wished the spent more time at work". But it is the same sentiment. Your life is up to you on how you want to spend time.
The rub: what is one persons waste of time is another's best time ever. Conversely, what is one person's good time is another's waste of time.
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