everywhere means nowhere

Everywhere means nowhere. -Seneca

In Book 2.1 of Letters From A Stoic, Seneca discusses this idea of quality over quantity. Think of going on a Europe trip to ten countries in a month versus visiting one place for a month. We like to pack as many things in. But the more we pack in, the less we truly absorb and digest our new experiences.

Seneca writes about this concept of everywhere is nowhere to advise Lucilius on learning and digesting content.

Seneca recommends:

• stick to a limited number of master thinkers
• be slow and thorough
• if you want a change, pick back up a book you already read
• pick one idea to be digested each day

The primary indication, to my thinking, of a well-ordered mind is a man's ability to remain in one place and linger in his own company. - Seneca

Most of us are guilty of this in at least one area of our lives. In the last few years, I have been jumping around and not finishing books that I started. When I was younger, I was very stubborn about finishing every book I started. This required me to be very selective about which books I would start reading in the first place, which acted as a gatekeeper. Now that I have existed on the two extremes, I think the best approach is to be super selective of the books I read and to read them with a slow and steady pace. To maximize digestion of core concepts.

Remember Seneca's wise saying, "a plant which is often moved can never grow strong."