"This was why [[Seneca]], in [[On the Shortness of Life]], came down so hard on his fellow [[Romans]] for pursuing political careers they didn’t really care about, holding elaborate banquets they didn’t especially enjoy, or just “baking their bodies in the sun”: **they didn’t seem to realize that in succumbing to such diversions, they were squandering the very stuff of existence**. [[Seneca]] risks sounding like an uptight pleasure-hater here—after all, what’s so bad about a bit of sunbathing?—and to be honest, I suspect he probably was. But the crucial point isn’t that it’s wrong to choose to spend your time relaxing, whether at the beach or on BuzzFeed. **It’s that the distracted person isn’t really choosing at all. Their attention has been commandeered by forces that don’t have their highest interests at heart**." --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[attention]], [[dealing-with-social-media]], [[character]], [[personal-values]], [[routines]], [[discipline]] **Source** -- [[202410130434 - B - Four Thousand Weeks]]