[antifragile 4 🔥] time to spare or never a moment
#37: a weekly newsletter created to inspire dads to use the challenges of fatherhood as fuel for building an incredible life & an antifragile mind.
Welcome to the 37th edition of the antifragile 4 🔥.
It’s a weekly newsletter created to inspire dads to use the challenges of fatherhood as fuel for building an incredible life & an antifragile mind. Expect it every Friday.
This week is a little different because we only have one quote. So…I guess it’s the antifragile 1 🔥?
Plus, as always, the AI Image of the Week 🤖 🎨
—
This quote found me at the perfect moment. I had highlighted it years ago on Kindle, and Readwise serendipitously slung it back at me this week.
Serendipitous because this past month has felt like pure chaos.
The flu swept through our house like a wrecking ball. I’m still on antibiotics from a throat infection that just won’t quit. The baby’s been on a sleep-regression bender. Our business doesn’t seem to have an offseason anymore (which is great and also has me on the verge of burning out). And I’m somehow still trying to pretend I have a shot at consistency in triathlon training.
Every day has felt like I’m chained to a treadmill set to sprint…and there’s no pause button—just a hellish, possessed speed dial cranking up on its own.
And then, Seneca smacked me in the face with this:
Chastity comes with time to spare, lechery has never a moment.
Seneca
It took me a second to understand. Especially with “chastity” and “lechery” as the words of choice.
But then it hit me like that first touch of cold ocean water to your manhood. 🥶
Gasp.
When I looked at it not as a moral statement, but as a reflection on how I manage my time and energy, that’s when it landed.
Chastity - or any form of self-discipline - requires a calm, intentional approach, that’s never rushed and, through planning, reflection, and contemplation, operates with time to spare.
On the other side of the coin, lechery - representing impulse, indulgence, or lack of self-control - is characterized by urgency, restlessness, lack of time for deeper thought, and a general panicked feeling of “being behind”.
And for me, when life had sped up of late, I’ve chosen the path of lechery. To numb out rather than slow down.
More scrolling. More snacking. More late-night “just one more” episodes.
All because my brain is hunting for an escape.
But ironically, the more I chase indulgence, the less time I have.
Lechery has never a moment.
So then what is the path? The antifragile path?
Not escape.
Not indulgence.
But stillness. Reflection.
Space to breathe. Space to think. Space to remember: I’m not actually strapped to anything—I can step off.
Life elevates and time materializes as the mind quiets. I know this.
I just need to live it.
AI Image of the Week 🤖 🎨
Seneca breaking the chains of a hedonic treadmill.
Two last things for you this week:
Insert stillness into 5 minutes of your life. I did it sitting on the table at my doctor’s office waiting for test results. It changed the rest of my day.
Be fire and wish for the wind 🔥
With love,
Chris
—
Did this edition resonate with you? Sharing is caring. Send to a fellow antifragile dad.
GREAT post!