“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
Attributed to the Roman Statesman and Stoic Philosopher Seneca, the sentence suggests that our concerns about things that haven’t happened cause us more distress than what will actually happen.
In other words, our anticipation of problems becomes worse than the problems themselves.
But what about the other side?
What if our fantasies of life, the joyful moments that have yet to occur, also cause us suffering?
The movie Fight Club has multiple scenes where the main character fantasizes about his mundane life, often wishing he could throw it all away in exchange for something more exciting: the girl he meets, the underground club he joins, or the encounter with someone who is his complete opposite.
The entire film is about fantasy vs reality!
Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes is another prime example of a character who escapes into fantasy and confuses what is real and what isn’t: confusing windmills for giants and sheep for armies.
To think about yourself and fantasize about all the things you haven’t done is the worst form of suffering you could imagine. Because it reeks of egotism and complacency.
Get out of your head and do the work.
Save your fantasies for when the work is done.
Here’s my quote for the day.
You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.
James A. Froude