One of my favorite Instagram accounts to follow is Daily Stoic for the quotes from Stoic philosophers. While I don’t tend to watch the short videos, I do always read the quotes and one stood out to me recently.
“Because most of what we say and do is not essential. Ask yourself at every moment, “Is this necessary?”” – Marcus Aurelius.
I recently wrote about my changing perspective on time in my annual birthday life lessons post. The main takeaway is that I have a deeper appreciation for how limited and important our time is than I ever had before. So what have I actually been doing with this not-so-profound-but-new-to-me perspective? I’ve been embracing minimalism to a whole new degree and taking inspiration from Stoic philosophy.
There are many quotes that stop and make me think, and while this is not a new thought by any means, I’ve been loving asking myself if actions I am taking are really necessary. There’s another quote from Marcus Aurelius that highlights the benefits of elimination. “Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time and tranquility.“
My favorite thing to delete recently has been recurring decisions. A small example is having a set day to clean out the fridge and a list of groceries that we can simply check off – previously we were shopping on random days and writing a new list each time.
Now when I look at my day, week, and month I’m thinking to myself “is that really necessary? Can I delete it?” I’d like this mindset to fundamentally shift how I approach the responsibilities I impose on myself and am especially excited to incorporate it as I go back to work. I’m envisioning how this can make a big impact on my effectiveness and how it is especially useful with shifting life priorities.
Let this inspire you to remove what isn’t necessary in your life and keep it at the forefront of your mind when new requirements come up.
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