“Ye lads whose age is fitted for reading,” Alcuin said, “learn! The years go by like running water. Waste not the teachable days in idleness!”
The years do pass by like an ever-flowing stream.
And you're faced with one sobering reality—your days are numbered and you don’t how many you’ll get.
So why waste them?
Why spend them binging on entertainment and frivolous pursuits, when bigger, better and greater things are calling?
You want to squeeze every drop you can out of life. To be the best and most remarkable version of yourself you can muster.
You don’t slack and take your eye off the ball on purpose, it’s just the easiest thing to do.
One compromise here or there, and you slowly drift into idleness.
You must fight compromise and idleness at every turn, especially on things that seem insignificant. That’s where your battle is won or lost.
Big things are easy. It’s the small things that don’t appear the matter that in the end matter most of all.
Reading is like that. It is a small habit that avoiding or forgetting doesn’t appear to impact your life today. And one day without reading doesn’t set your course for destruction and ruin. The problem comes when one day turns into two, and two becomes three, and so on and so forth until you look up one fine day and realize all the opportunities to learn and grow you've missed.
It’s the same with what diet, exercise and a whole host of tiny habits and routines that don’t appear important on the surface. Their magic isn’t found in the days work, but in the compounding effect, they’ll have if you’re consistent over time.
So stick to the path.
Stay the course.
Don’t allow slack and idleness to creep into your easy chair. In fact, throw out your easy chair and get after it because seizing the day ain’t easy.
It takes constant vigilance to hold the line on even the tiniest of things.
