Finally, Seneca’s thought can be practiced on a modest scale each day. Instead of vowing to ‘write a book,’ you draft a single paragraph; instead of ‘changing careers,’ you have one exploratory conversation. Each is a first line that invites a larger narrative. Over time, these repeated beginnings weave into a sustained story of action and growth. In this way, the habit of starting without permission transforms life from a series of deferred ambitions into an unfolding work in progress, authored from within rather than dictated from outside. [...]
