About a month ago I purchased a SkillShare account. I had been encountering some problems at work I thought could be remedied with some specific software instruction. It has helped with those issues to some extent. I find myself spending far more time taking courses on things I’m interested in than those I may need. I really needed some brushing up in Adobe After Effects. Particularly since the classes I took on After Effects in college were performed on version 1.0. I am taking an A.E. course and it’s great. I get a lot out of it. However, I have been spending at least 2 hours each day taking courses on things like productivity, speed reading, and most recently Stoicism.
I had a vague idea of what Stoicism is before I began the class. Most people have at least heard of Marcus Aurelius. In the movie, Gladiator, if nothing else. However, I had not taken a deep dive into the subject until now and I still have much further to go. One quote by Marcus Aurelius that is presented early in the course is this...
“People who are excited by posthumous fame forget that the people who remember them will soon die too. And those after them in turn. Until their memory, passed from one to another like a candle flame, gutters and goes out.”
This quote has been on my mind a lot today after deciding yesterday to forego posting a progress picture on Instagram for starting another 30-day challenge. I have been thinking about the cycle one can get into when playing the social media game. We post things to our sites in hopes it will bring us the cheers and encouragement of those that follow us. I'm just as guilty of it as the next person. My streams are filled with self-serving posts and have been for years. I'm sure if I post things to my social media in the future I will enjoy every like I receive. That's how it's designed. All those hearts and thumbs up are like booster shots to our ego and it feels good every time. It's so good it's addictive.
Being addictive it is also ephemeral. The feeling is good but short-lived. As such it is good to remember things like the quote from Marcus Aurelius. When taking the perspective of the view from above it is easier to see things like this do not provide us with any sort of lasting fulfillment. Likes come and go. It's better to focus on the things that will bring us long term joy. Like "October Horror Novel Month" which I have started with The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. More on that in future posts.
Day 2 and I haven't gotten better at ending posts. I'm still figuring it out. Not giving up though!