IX. The Insanity of Postponement

For Seneca, putting off life is worse than wasting it.

The people who plan to start living later deserve the harshest judgment of all.

You know the type. Maybe you are the type. The person who says: when I retire, I will really start. When the mortgage is paid off. When the kids are grown. When things settle down. When I have more time.

This is the most dangerous lie we tell ourselves, because it sounds so reasonable. It does not feel like giving up. It feels like planning. It feels responsible and wise to defer the real life until the conditions are right.

The conditions are never right. There is always another reason to wait. While you are waiting, life is going.

While we are putting things off, life speeds by.

I am not saying you should be reckless. I am not telling you to quit your job tomorrow or throw away your responsibilities. I am saying: the things you are saving for later, the real work, the real relationships, the real self you are going to be someday, do not require perfect conditions. They require a decision. The decision to stop treating your life as a rehearsal for your life.

Most people reach old age and are genuinely shocked. They feel they were just getting ready. They thought there was more time. They believed the preparation was almost done and the real thing was just about to begin.

It was already happening. The whole time, it was already happening.