☀️ Stoic Morning Minute: Got Presence?

The Power of Now

Author

Jon High
February 25, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 1 minute

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Don't wait to be successful at some future point. Have a successful relationship with the present moment and be fully present in whatever you are doing. That is success.

Eckhart Tolle

💭 Modern Translation

Marcus Aurelius would've loved this. The Stoics taught that the present moment is the only thing we truly possess. While your mind time-travels to some imaginary future where you'll "finally" be happy, life—the only one you've got—is happening right now. The Stoics knew true success isn't what might happen tomorrow, but how intentionally you live today.

⚡️ Your Move

When you catch yourself rushing through a task to get to "more important things," pause and apply the Stoic practice of prosochē (attention): Give this seemingly mundane moment your complete focus for just 30 seconds.

As Seneca advised, the wise person "never allows himself to be half-present." The “future” can wait half a minute.

Here’s to the present moment,

Jon