How to Stay Present
What Stoic philosophy can teach us about finding presence through action
What Stoic philosophy can teach us about finding presence through action
There’s not a day that goes by where we are not pulled in multiple directions due to our reliance upon technology. We’re now ever connected to the world. This means we’re connected to work, friends, family, and with all this connectivity, the issues that can, and do, arise at any moment in time. But due to this interconnected ability, we are less and less caught up in the present moment. The more we lean on these technologies that are supposed to ease our lives, the less grounded within our life, and in the current moment, we are.
How do we therefore stay present in the moment if the moment is constantly being interrupted?
Time is Worth More than Money
The Stoics were very conscientious of what it meant to waste time, to not be pursuing a life of virtue. Seneca himself wrote an entire essay on the importance of time within our lives entitled On the Shortness of Life. In it, he describes just how wasteful we as humans are with the finite resource of time.
“It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested. But when it is squandered in luxury and carelessness, when it is devoted to no good end, forced at last by the ultimate necessity we perceive that it has passed away before we were aware that it was passing. So it is-the life we receive is not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but are wasteful of it.”
Seneca. On the Shortness of Life
Can you reflect back on the past few days and see where you wasted time? I know I can. It is natural to not fully live life, to delegate time to things or tasks which may not be advancing us in the direction we want to go. And that’s okay, we need breaks in order to grow, we need distractions and entertainment in our lives. But it is when these things get out of hand, when they prevent us from a good life — a life of reason and virtue — that a change is needed.
When we are performing a task, when we are committed to the present moment and what we’re doing there and then, we need to learn to be religious with that time and restrict distractions. We need to stay present in those moments, in the “flow” states which may arise. It is the continued diligent effort of pushing towards our goals, to bettering our lives to what we want, that we stay in these moments. Every minute counts and we must remember what a gift it is to have these moments. That we are lucky to be here doing what we do. That we are ultimately lucky to be alive.
As Seneca reminds us about the limits of time:
“You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last.”
Seneca. On the Shortness of Life
Be Purposeful in Your Actions
Time, how long we’re here, is unknown to us. Our actions, and our presence within those actions, are therefore vital to our success within life, to living a virtuous existence. Even Marcus Aurelius had to remind himself of this and its importance, at one point within book four of Meditations writing to himself to let no action be done without a purpose. Marcus knew of the importance of the present moment and what he put into it. He did not have the luxury to just go through the motions, he knew that with each and every thing he did, he needed to have his intentions behind it.
Without the presence and intention of our actions, we have something which is incomplete, lacking the most vital parts of ourselves which could have been poured into whatever it is we were doing.
Time does not stop for us no matter how hard we try. We cannot buy ourselves more time in the end, therefore we must learn to embrace the present moment and pour ourselves into it. Seneca reminds us of such in On the Shortness of Life, how fleeting these moments are, how quickly we must act and embrace the moments we’re in:
“Even though you seize the day, it still will flee; therefore, you must vie with time’s swiftness in the speed of using it, and, as from a torrent that rushes by and will not always flow, you must drink quickly.”
Seneca. On the Shortness of Life
The Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza believed that all people have an innate desire to become who they were meant to be. The closer we are to achieving this, the more we perform acts that are in alignment with this “essential nature”, the happier and more fulfilled we are in life. Much of Spinoza’s own philosophical views were influenced by Stoicism and this pursuit of the essential nature is similar to the Stoic pursuit of virtue in that it is about living to our truest potential. As Stoics, our goal in life is to live a life of virtue, to live in accordance with Nature, to live by Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude. But without intention, without our ability to be in the present moment, to feel ourselves and our “essential nature”, we cannot invest our time properly. We must be purposeful with our actions, be specific with our intent.
From the Four Cardinal Virtues of Stoicism, we learn to be okay with moderation, with bettering ourselves and abstaining from those things which provide a great emotional pull and desire from within. Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself in Meditations about the need to abstain from certain pleasures in order to grow and hold less of an attachment to them. Think about what Caleb Ontiveros recently wrote about when he discussed Dopamine Fasting:
“Think about addictive behaviors that are holding you back from your goals. Set aside time, from an hour to a day, to strategically fast from compulsive behaviors. Set time aside, to strategically feast and enjoy the same behaviors.”
Caleb Ontiveros. Article: Is Dopamine Fasting Rehashed Stoicism?
This restriction of desires is a powerful exercise the Stoics used to help conquer their desires and keep them grounded within the present moment. Think about what Epictetus discussed in Discourses:
“There are three areas in which the person who would be wise and good must be trained. The first has to do with desires and aversions — that a person may never miss the mark in desires nor fall into what repels them. The second has to do with impulses to act and not to act — and more broadly, with duty — that a person may act deliberately for good reasons and not carelessly. The third has to do with freedom from deception and composure and the whole area of judgment, the assent our mind gives to its perceptions. Of these areas, the chief and most urgent is the first which has to do with the passions, for strong emotions arise only when we fail in our desires and aversions.”
Epictetus. Discourses. 3.2.1
We need to remember that not answering that text or notification is okay, that the world can wait for us. We are stronger than these external distractions.
Lean into Self-Reliance
While we are built by those around us, we need to understand that it is okay to spend time alone, with our private thoughts, with silence. And we can work to become more comfortable with this silence. It is from ourselves that we learn to create a happy and comfortable life. External stimuli will not create this for us, thinking so is nothing more than an an illusion. Ralph Waldo Emerson whose essay Self-Reliance was heavily influenced by the Stoics stated:
“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson. Self-Reliance
It all begins with our mindset. We must set our mind to be comfortable with silence, without the distractions of our phones or notifications. And it is strange at first. It is uncomfortable to sit and hear nothing. To do… nothing, and just be. But does that mean it is bad or wrong? No, of course not. Learning to be still in the world is the key to success. While everyone else is running around jumping here and there, being distracted from this or that, we have the ability to focus on something in its entirety and in turn do our best at that task.
The point of all of this is to avoid the distractions that usually pull us from the present moment and be at complete peace with the stillness. As Ryan Holiday discusses in his latest book, Stillness is the Key:
“What do we want more of in life? That’s the question. It’s not accomplishments. It’s not popularity. It’s moments when we feel like we are enough. More presence. More clarity. More insight. More truth. More stillness.”
Ryan Holiday. Stillness is the Key
By opening ourselves up to this stillness, we allow creativity to freely flow through our mind, unhindered by any of the distractions or problems of the day. Our thoughts begin to flow freely and without restriction. We find ourselves pursuing things that are in alignment with our essential nature, we more easily observe the world and use reasoning, we are better equipped to live in accordance with Nature.
Choose Where Your Focus Lies
“People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.”
Seneca. On the Shortness of Life
As Seneca reminds us above, where we put our attention is critical to our happiness and success. Running in multiple directions often leads to nothing being accomplished and the ease of burnout creeps in. Focusing our attention, being present to decide where and when we will focus on something, that is the key. We can become more effective, better focused, and ultimately much happier.
Or as Greg McKeown states in his book Essentialism:
“The idea is to live a life true to yourself not the life others expect from you.”
Greg McKeown. Essentialism
This means choosing what we want to focus on. Saying no rather than yes to things. Being comfortable with ourselves, our decisions, and the actions we pursue with our time. We have the ability to do more by doing less.
We must find ways to allow the silence to speak to us. It is about quality not quantity. We have control over ourselves and our own actions. From this we can find peace. It means that we don’t need other things to form a happy life. Like Marcus reminds himself in Meditations:
“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”
Marcus Aurelius. Meditations. VII.67
We must listen to ourselves, to that inner voice that directs us towards our “essential nature”, the tasks which truly call for our attention.
Take the Right Action
We can enjoy the moments we have more fully by embracing them. If there is silence, feel that silence all around. Our life is just that, our life. It is within our control. Our actions are within our control. We have the ability to choose what to put our attention towards. We choose to be in the present moment, to embrace all that is around us and pour ourselves into it, to not allow external stimuli from affecting our inner peace.
We have the ability to take action.
But we can’t wait.
“The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.”
Seneca. On the Shortness of Life
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PPS: This article contains affiliate links to the books I referenced. This being said, I have read and evaluated each of the books prior to my recommending them through the links within this article.
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