Carpe Diem

[woolf woolf]

I never grasped the concept behind this expression. I think it means to focus on the present and give little thought to what may come after, but doesn't that compromise the idea of delayed gratification, which we're told to follow in order to achieve something meaningful in the future?

[Hayley]

It’s literal translation is ‘seize the day’, isn’t it? I always thought it just meant we should make the most of every day, but it does also make sense to interpret it as ‘focus on the present’. As you say though, that is a bit more problematic. I have come across people who have that mentality (that you should do whatever makes you happy in the moment and deal with the consequences when they come) and I find it really frustrating!

[Angury]

I agree with Hayley, I always interpreted it as 'seize the day!' 

 

For me it can be very motivating as I often see one day as just another drag from another where I go to the same job, eat the same food, do the same chores, watch the same TV shows - essentially on repeat for the next 30-40 years of my life. Whereas the concept of carpe diem encourages me to see everyday as a new opportunity of shaping my life and seizing every opportunity that comes my way.