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You know where you're trying to go. You have a goal you're aiming for. You're hard at work. You're doing what you can.
This would be enough to get you there were it not for one thing: Other people. Not other people in the sense of what Marcus Aurelius talked about—how they are obstacles and sources of difficulty—but rather that other people are sources of distraction and envy. If we were the only ones doing what we were doing, there would be clarity and simplicity. Well, that's not how life works.
Seneca talked about how tricky it was to stay on the path that you're supposed to be on when your path is crisscrossed by the paths of so many others…and worst of all, crisscrossed by people who have no idea where they are going!
Not long ago, we spoke of Seneca as a cautionary tale. He himself was led astray by his peers and predecessors in politics and power, and ended up in a dark and shameful place in Nero's service. We quoted from a song by the band Bear's Den, which has another lyric that makes this point:
Lost footsteps in the snow Down the paths we used to roam
Staying on our path will not be easy. The more we judge ourselves against others, the more we covet what they have or try to compete with them, the more likely we are to end up lost. We must find our true north and stick with it.
Our feet will always move in the direction of our focus. So look where you want to go. Stay focused on the path, keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other. Ignore those running alongside, wandering off the path, trying to lead you elsewhere. Continue on the right road. It's the only way to get where you're trying to go.
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