“A good isn’t increased by the addition of time, but if one is wise for even a moment, they will be no less happy than the person who exercises virtue for all time and happily passes their life in it.” ~Chrysippus
I read this quote in The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and it comes at a time of what I call “Post-Hangout Depression”. A time when you come back from a long weekend with friends and now you’re sad the fun times are over. Routine life unfortunately has to start again.
This quote, in my eyes, is saying that once you know how good something feels, you can carry that with you forever. The good times don’t have to last forever and you can’t expect them to.
If you’re fortunate enough to experience these amazing emotions, whether it be winning a contest, accomplishing a goal, or sharing a laugh with friends, you can never lose that feeling. No one can take it away from you.
Time may take the moment away, but you now know what it felt like. You can now look back on those feelings whenever you need to.
When you’re stressed over how much work it’s taking to reach a goal, you can remember how it felt the last time. Then let those feelings drive you to push forward.
When the weekend ends and you miss your friends, just think about something funny that happened when you were together. Consider the moments you felt the best. Let that feeling keep you going until the next time you’re together.
Don’t expect all days to be highs. But don’t fret when there are lows. You always have the ability to recall the best days and use them to overcome the worst days.
December 13, 2021
