r/GetMotivated • u/hardwireddiscipline • 7d ago

DISCUSSION Rules to Stop Wasting Life [Discussion]

Most of us aren’t really living, we’re just wasting time.
We tell ourselves we’ll start tomorrow.
We drown in comfort.
We numb ourselves with noise.

The Stoics warned us about this. They weren’t just philosophers, they were people fighting against the same weaknesses we face today. Seneca put it brutally: “It’s not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”

Lately I’ve been asking myself: how much of my time is really lived, and how much is just wasted?
The 4 Stoic rules that keep coming back to me are:

  1. Remember you’re dying (Memento Mori)
  2. Choose pain over comfort
  3. Stop lying to yourself
  4. Do the work in silence

For me, comfort as a slow poison is the hardest truth. It’s so easy to slip into scrolling, eating, or procrastinating and call it “rest.” But it’s not rest. It’s wasting life.

What about you? Which of these rules feels most urgent in today’s world, and why?

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u/Significant-Leek8483 6d ago

I have a decent job and it keeps me busy, pays my bills, no stress/weekend work whatsoever. I get enough time to look after my young family, take kids to classes etc and watch them grow up. We are able to take 1 or 2 international holidays every year.

Yes - I could stretch and get a larger role/job, earn more etc. But I lack the motivation and frankly have reached the ceiling of competence. I am happy now and hence no motivation to do anything more.

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u/hardwireddiscipline 5d ago

That sounds solid. You’ve built stability, family, and peace, and that’s rare. The only thing the Stoics would remind us is to stay awake inside it. Comfort is good until it turns into autopilot. Being present with your kids and grateful for the time you have, that’s already living with discipline.