November 29, 2025
When I sat down to write this Thought of the Day and Question of the Day post, I realized these two ideas, Epictetus urging us to “devote the rest of your life to making progress,” and the unsettling nature of silence, might actually be two sides of the same coin. Today’s post explores how progress, growth, and the quiet moments we often avoid are more connected than we’d like to admit. If you’ve ever found yourself dodging both improvement and your own thoughts… buckle up.
Thought of the Day: “Devote the rest of your life to making progress.” — Epictetus
When Epictetus said this, I’m pretty sure he didn’t have three kids under age five climbing on him like a jungle gym, but the sentiment still stands. Devote your life to progress. Not perfection. Not domination. Not completing the mythical to-do list that allegedly has an end. Progress.
I’ve lived enough life to know that progress is rarely glamorous. It’s not an Instagram Reel with a lo-fi soundtrack. It’s brushing your teeth when you don’t want to. It’s deciding to finish the dishes instead of pretending you didn’t see them. It’s showing up to the gym even though the couch is giving you bedroom eyes. And on a deeper level, it’s continuing to move forward even when the last year (or five) has been exhausting.
Progress is personal. Some days it’s a triumphant step forward; other days it’s a slow crawl in the right direction. Even crawling counts. Epictetus wasn’t saying, “Devote your life to climbing mountains every day.” He simply meant: don’t stop. Don’t retreat into the comfortable numbness of “good enough.” Keep nudging the needle. Even if the needle is currently duct-taped to the dashboard.
There’s something encouraging about the idea that forward motion, any forward motion, is enough. It’s the same energy I leaned into when I wrote recently about how “life finds a way to surprise you when you just keep going,”
And honestly? There’s comfort in that. Because I’m not aiming to be perfect. I’m aiming to be just a little better each day than the version of me who really wanted to take a nap instead.
Question of the Day: What is it about silence that’s so unnerving?
Let’s be real: silence is terrifying for most of us. Not because silence itself is dangerous, but because silence removes the background noise we rely on to keep the real stuff, our thoughts, our fears, our worries, at arm’s length.
What makes silence so unnerving is that it leaves you alone with your mind. And your mind is… well… your mind. It knows all your secrets. It’s seen your browser history. It knows what you said in the shower argument you didn’t actually have. Silence brings all of that to the surface.
Most people avoid silence because in silence, there’s nowhere left to hide. “I think most people are afraid of their own thoughts. Ignorance is bliss. If you don’t know your own thoughts, it’s easier to ignore them.”
Exactly. If you never slow down long enough to listen, the parts of you that need attention stay safely buried under podcasts, playlists, and the comforting hum of constant distraction.
But here’s the twist: silence is also where progress happens. The same progress Epictetus urges us to commit to. The silence we avoid is often the silence we need. Space to think. Space to feel. Space to admit what’s not working, and what is.
It reminds me of something I wrote in a recent post about how “there’s never such a thing as bad news—only how you receive it.” Silence is the messenger. It delivers news you didn’t ask for. But if you sit with it long enough, eventually the discomfort fades and the understanding sets in. That’s where the real growth begins.
So if silence scares you… maybe that’s a sign you have something worth listening to.
Want to Add Your Voice?
If today’s Thought of the Day and Question of the Day stirred something—or called you out lovingly—leave a comment and tell me what silence brings up for you.
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