Everyday I find myself wanting to work on something productive. A project or task that I believe will move my life forward. These can be skill building, business, or helping to make more connections. I enjoy working on my writing and finding ways to improve. I have a documentary that I'm working to get off the ground, which will hopefully bring more connections into my life for future projects.

There is an issue though. I find my laziness start to creep in regularly. Seeing an excuse to not do something today, or my day job might even burn me out at a mental capacity due to long hours, and constant troubleshooting with questions from co-workers.

It's getting easier to push this laziness off more and more regularly. I believe that stems from a couple factors. The first being that I understand that my time on this earth is limited and knowing this tells me that tomorrow is never guaranteed. Taking action today becomes more important with this understanding. The second factor is that I have started to feel that I have a purpose in my life that is greater than myself. I don't know if I completely understand what that is yet, but that feeling is there.

These factors keep me coming back to two phrases. The phrases are "Carpe Diem" and "Memento Mori". Yes they are Latin phrases reflecting my philosophical side. One might not understand it at first, but I find that they work quite well together. I actually have a challenge coin gifted to me by my wonderful wife that has Carpe Diem on one side and Memento Mori on the other. It was a really fitting gift for me due to the fact that they both fall into my daily mantra.

What does Carpe Diem mean? It's Latin for "Seize the Day". It originates from a poem in the Odes of the Roman poet Horace (65-8 BCE). It addressed a friend cautioning them against worrying about the future and instead urging them to seize the present day. There is a nuance here that needs to be addressed. Researching the definition of Carpe Diem from the Meriam Websters Dictionary leads to, "The enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future." This phrasing sounds like a call to pleasure, reckless abandon, and hedonism. I'm not a fan of this definition. It's actually about a call to appreciate the present moment and to make the most of your time. I have always viewed Carpe Diem by how it was meant to be perceived. Take your day and use it productively for the better. Instead of sitting and playing a mindless game, or scrolling on TikTok, use your time to better yourself and your life. Don't let time go to waste, take action today, you may never have the opportunity tomorrow.

Stoic Challenge Coin

Memento Mori Side.

What does Memento Mori mean? This is Latin for "Remember you will die". It sounds grim, but it's meant as a way to humble you in moments of pride and celebration. It has roots in various cultures and philosophical traditions. It's most known for originating in ancient Rome. According to some historical accounts, when a general was victorious, he was paraded through the streets. They would have a slave stand behind him and whisper "Memento Mori" to remind him of his mortality and to prevent him from becoming hubristic or arrogant. Later it was embraced by Christian thinkers and artists during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, thus it appearing in art literature and architecture, serving as a reminder of the transience of life. It's a word of caution that what you have today can be taken away at anytime. It can be used to motivate you to take action. Our time on this world really is limited and you may never have tomorrow.

Why do I keep coming back to these two phrases? I tend to struggle with my focus from time to time and fall into a default mode that involves doom scrolling social media, or playing a mindless game on my phone. This default mode is a part of who I am that I'm trying to turn into a different person: One who defaults to read, or create when I'm bored, instead of picking up my phone or playing a game. These two mantras are a reminder to be the better version of me and let the old me die.

When trying to build a better version of you, there is pain that is involved. There is the pain of growth, and the pain of death. There is a resistance we all have trying to break any habit. That tendency to pick up the phone when you don't know what else to do in the moment. It's easy to find excuses to go back to it, "I only have five minutes, I'll play this while I wait." Those small moments are mostly harmless, but they do allow for you to fall back into that old default version of you.

I fall into being that person regularly. It's like a sine wave; I'll have a few days where I instinctively default to the new version of me that I'm striving for, and then I'll start falling back into the old default version of me. Like many things in life, it's cyclical. The one thing that I've notice is that when I do fall into the old default version of me, I don't fall into it for as long. This tells me that I'm learning, progressing, and growing. It lends to the idea that, if at first you don't succeed, get back to it and try again. Each time you learn something and can make an improvement at your next attempt.

Why is it so cyclical? It would be nice to change part of your personality in an instant, but that's not the reality of the world. Changing a habit like that is like killing a part of who you are today off, and when we do that it can be extremely uncomfortable. That part of you fights to survive. This is what causes the cyclical nature of improving yourself. Successful people aren't successful 100% of the time, they keep at it until they become successful.

Are there ways to make it easier? The quick answer is yes. The fastest way involves changing your environment completely. In my case I would need to delete the trouble apps in my phone and then make sure the apps and tools I want to resort to instead are easy to access. I recently heard Alex Hormozi, a prominent entrepreneur, talk about how many of the Vietnam War Vets were addicted to narcotics while in Vietnam, but about 95% stopped all use after returning home. The change in the environment made that transition out of the drug use easier for them.

Let's circle back to "Carpe Diem" and "Memento Mori". As you age, you start to really understand how time is your most important resource. It's the one thing that you can't get back once it has passed. These two phrases capture that feeling of not wanting to lose time, especially on trivial matters. They are reminders to use your time wisely, and to focus on what's important.

What I keep coming back to...

Unavoidable Interruptions