Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquillity. Ask yourself at every moment, “Is this necessary?”
Marcus Aurelius
What a beautiful filter for life: is it what I am doing necessary or not? Is it essential? What kind of a difference does it make in my life? We can apply this filter to all our decisions, big or small. For instance:
Do I really need to buy another pair of shoes or do I have plenty already? Do I need to order a meal or do I have leftovers in the fridge? Do I actually need a new smartphone or is my old one good enough? Am I really happy with my current job or is it time for a change?
This simple technique has helped me immensely in improving the quality of my life. Asking myself “is this necessary?” pushes me to simplify and think about the essential aspects of my life. Those aspects are the building blocks of my life: family, sleep, work, eating, learning, and working out. Then, I ask myself: “will my decision improve the quality of the building blocks? Or will I be undermining them?”.
As Seneca put it, we should measure our lives, because it just does not have room for so much.
