It’s easy to put things off. To indulge. To pile everything on the plate of your future self.
I’ve been working hard to increase my willpower this month, and equally as important, my won’t power. I’m reading The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, which I’ll write more about in the future when I finish the book. For now, I wanted to write about a quote I read from Epictetus a few years ago. It’s helped me summon willpower this month on several occasions.
“And whenever you encounter anything that is difficult or pleasurable, or highly or lowly regarded, remember that the contest is now: you are at the Olympic Games, you cannot wait any longer, and that your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event. That is how Socrates fulfilled himself by attending to nothing except reason in everything he encountered.”
It reminds me how important it is to live in the present moment. We can so easily dump that next workout, next chapter we’re writing, or next sales opportunity onto our future selves, that we need a strategy in place to tackle things here and now. At least, I do. Reminding myself you are at the Olympic Games has come in very handy. I’m currently exploring other ways to help me stay in the moment – meditating, setting triggers, and journaling has all helped. Reading from the stoics and collecting gems like the quote above in an Evernote notebook has helped my decision making immensely.