Reddit reviews On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How to Use It (Penguin Great Ideas)

I have three to recommend.

First is a pocket sized [Enchiridion and Meditations book.](https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Handbook-Pocket-Marc-Libre/dp/1329257359/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481901672&sr=1-3&keywords=meditations+and+handbook"Amazon Page"). It's not my favorite translation, but it is pocket-sized.

Second is [On the Shortness of Life](https://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0143036327/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481902012&sr=1-1&keywords=on+the+shortness+of+life"Amazon Link") which is about the same size (11x18 cm) and fits in your back or coat pocket. It contains [On the Shortness of Life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Brevitate_Vitae_(Seneca), Consolation to Helvia, and On Tranquility of Mind.

The third isn't a physical book. A [Practical Stocism Book](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/comments/4bz797/practical_stoicism/"Reddit Page"), compiled and written by u/GreyFreeman, has been a very handy book to peruse whether you've got a few minutes or an hour.

Take care and enjoy.

Seneca : On the Shortness of Life

The Stoic writings of the philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into the art of living, the importance of reason and morality, and continue to provide profound guidance to many through their eloquence, lucidity and timeless wisdom.

http://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0143036327

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97412.On_the_Shortness_of_Life

I got my kids an Xbox about 3 years ago. I found myself playing Halo for 3-4 hours a few times per week. I thought about what I could accomplish if I had actually used the time for something productive.

Now I'm half way through a master degree in a top 5 program and am in the best shape of my life.

But this is nothing new

I think a great introduction into stoicism is On the Shortness of Life by Seneca. Really just the first half of it. It's a very short read, but I return to it often.

The best motivation I found was a book by Seneca, if you read it and do nothing then really there is no help!

https://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0143036327/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468273956&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=seneca+shortness+of+lide

Otherwise, nootropics won't do much imho, Amphetamine, Ritalin, Adderall should have biggest motivation/focus effect.

I would recommend reading the book "On the shortness of life" by Roman stoic philosopher Seneca.

http://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0143036327


In this short book, Seneca shows us that if we take a step back and look at how we live our lives, we will see that we waste A LOT of it doing useless activities. By the end of our lives, we are saddened by the fact that we have little time left to live, and are regretful of things that we chose not to do. The point of the book, in my opinion, is to wake up the reader and to show him/her that they should live everyday like it's their last because we are never 100% certain that we will be alive the next day! Having this knowledge about the fickleness of our lives gives many of us MOTIVATION to get up and do something! It's kinda like when people say YOLO (or at least, used to say :D) You will be more motivated to do something if you know that the clock is ticking and that your time on this planet is quickly coming to an end. Think about the potential uses of this knowledge: Afraid of taking to that cute boy or girl? If you know that you're time is limited on this planet, this might give you a bit more of a reason to talk to that person, right?

In regards to your recent case of loneliness and boredom, I would recommend that you improve yourself (your character) by reading as much helpful information as you can about how to live the best life possible. I think a great place to start is to read some Stoic philosophers and understand their ideas (go to the subreddit /r/stoicism for more info). Self-help books are always nice too.


Hope this helps, message me if you ever need someone to talk to, i'd be glad to do so!

On the Shortness of Life by Seneca. It's a Stoic philosophical essay about investing your time wisely, which I think had a profound impact on me. Penguin sell a short book comprised of it and two other essays of his.

If you have any slight interest in philosophy I would recommend On The Shortness of Life

I think On the Shortness of Life is pretty accessible.

You can read the first paragraph of the Basore public domain translation here: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_shortness_of_life/Chapter_I

and compare it to a more modern translation like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0143036327#reader_0143036327

You can judge yourself if you think the older translation is clear enough or if you'd prefer the modern one.

Letters from a Stoic

On the shortness of life

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143036327/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had a friend once who wasnt exceptionally bright but he was tall and handsome. Dude kept track of everything he wanted to do and goals. Even if it was just to buy a cd he wrote it on a dry erase board. Despite not being incredibly bright he's successful and gets shit done.

[Translation Source] (https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0143036327/braipick-20)

Not sure if it applies to this situation but "On the shortness of Life - Seneca" helps me get a grip and focus on what I have to do

Seneca - On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How To Use It

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143036327/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_GAOVzbJFY0TJC

>It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it. - Seneca, On The Shortness of Life

The one I have is smaller. And it's actually called On the Shortness of Life. https://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0143036327/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499645356&sr=8-1&keywords=on+the+shortness+of+life