--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don’t waste the rest of your time here…" description: "\"“Don’t waste the rest of your time here worrying about other people—unless it affects the common good. It will keep you from doing anything useful. You..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/marcus-aurelius-139_common-good_don-t-waste-the-rest-of-your-time-here-w_3151251.jpg" --- # Don’t waste the rest of your time here worrying about… ![“Don’t waste the rest of your time here worrying about other people—unless it affects the common good. It will keep you from doing anything useful. You’ll be too preoccupied with what so-and-so is doing, and why, and what they’re saying, and what they’re thinking, and what they’re up to, and all…” quote by Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/marcus-aurelius-139_common-good_don-t-waste-the-rest-of-your-time-here-w_3151251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/marcus-aurelius-139_common-good_don-t-waste-the-rest-of-your-time-here-w_3151251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/marcus-aurelius-139_common-good_don-t-waste-the-rest-of-your-time-here-w_3151251.jpg) > ““Don’t waste the rest of your time here worrying about other people—unless it affects the common good. It will keep you from doing anything useful. You’ll be too preoccupied with what so-and-so is doing, and why, and what they’re saying, and what they’re thinking, and what they’re up to, and all the other things that throw you off and keep you from focusing on your own mind.”” [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Worrying about others distracts from personal purpose and can hinder meaningful action. **In simple terms:** Focus on your own mind, not others' affairs. Key Takeaway Prioritize your own goals. Themes focus self-discipline productivity Mood determined critical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - work tasks - personal projects - decision making - social media use Key Concepts Stoicism attention management Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance concern for others with personal focus? - What strategies help limit distracting worries? A Different Perspective Complete focus may be impossible in highly collaborative environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-good/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Worrying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worrying/) ## Related quotes > [“Don’t waste the rest of your time here worrying about other people—unless it affects the common good. It will keep you from doing anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-waste-the-rest-of-your-time-here-worrying-about-other-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I spent all my time thinking and worrying about what people say or think about me, I wouldn't have time to live my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-i-spent-all-my-time-thinking-and-worrying-about-what-people-say-or/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Spending way too long worrying about what people think about me is a bad habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-horgan/spending-way-too-long-worrying-about-what-people-think-about-me-is-a/) [Sharon Horgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-horgan/) > [My feelings come first, I'm done worrying about other people before myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-feelings-come-first-i-m-done-worrying-about-other-people-before/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop worrying what other people think.~(:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noma-dumezweni/stop-worrying-what-other-people-think/) [Noma Dumezweni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noma-dumezweni/) > [If I spent my time worrying about what other people would think of my work, I would be too self-conscious to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/if-i-spent-my-time-worrying-about-what-other-people-would-think-of-my/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [I wasted years worrying about what other people thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wasted-years-worrying-about-what-other-people-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think about what other people expect or anything. I mean, I sit and worrying so much about what I'M thinking, I'd go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-holdsworth/i-don-t-think-about-what-other-people-expect-or-anything-i-mean-i-sit/) [Allan Holdsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-holdsworth/) > [I'm done worrying about other people I pore my heart out so much I really don't need this thats why I distance my self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dezz/i-m-done-worrying-about-other-people-i-pore-my-heart-out-so-much-i/) Dezz > [Don't waste your time worrying if people are talking about you - you affected their lives, they didn't affect yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/don-t-waste-your-time-worrying-if-people-are-talking-about-you-you/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [You can't do your work worrying about what people will think of it - you kind of just have to do your work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-wolf/you-can-t-do-your-work-worrying-about-what-people-will-think-of-it/) [Scott Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-wolf/) > [Stop worrying about what people think:)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ms-shy-fly/stop-worrying-about-what-people-think/) Ms\_shy\_fly > [If you're going to go through your life worrying about other people and what they think, you're going to be a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-fitch/if-you-re-going-to-go-through-your-life-worrying-about-other-people/) [Jon Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-fitch/) > [Worrying about other people gives you less time to focus on yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worrying-about-other-people-gives-you-less-time-to-focus-on-yourself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So many people are paralyzed by worrying, "What are these people going to think?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-shor/so-many-people-are-paralyzed-by-worrying-what-are-these-people-going/) [Miriam Shor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-shor/) ## More by Marcus Aurelius > [A man should be upright, not kept upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/a-man-should-be-upright-not-kept-upright/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Everything is mere opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/everything-is-mere-opinion/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [If any man has done wrong, the harm is his own. But perhaps he has not done wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-any-man-has-done-wrong-the-harm-is-his-own-but-perhaps-he-has-not/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [My true Self is free. I cannot be contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/my-true-self-is-free-i-cannot-be-contained/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Nothing befalls any man which he is not fitted to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/nothing-befalls-any-man-which-he-is-not-fitted-to-endure/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people's actions, and see what they would be at, as often as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/let-it-be-your-constant-method-to-look-into-the-design-of-people-s/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Our life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/our-life-is-a-warfare-and-a-mere-pilgrimage/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“If therefore it be a thing external that causes thy grief, know, that it is not that properly that doth cause it, but thine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-therefore-it-be-a-thing-external-that-causes-thy-grief-know-that/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What's closer to nature's heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/frightened-of-change-but-what-can-exist-without-it-what-s-closer-to/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-are-too-much-accustomed-to-attribute-to-a-single-cause-that-which/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself, "I have to go to work - as a human being. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/at-dawn-when-you-have-trouble-getting-out-of-bed-tell-yourself-i-have/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) [Explore all 1,138 Marcus Aurelius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## More Common good quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Advocacy groups, politicians, and bureaucrats use the government to advance their private good instead of the common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-miller/advocacy-groups-politicians-and-bureaucrats-use-the-government-to/) [Joel Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-miller/) > [With a full century of contrary proof in our possession and despite our demonstrated capacity for cooperative teamwork, some among us seem to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/with-a-full-century-of-contrary-proof-in-our-possession-and-despite/) [Dwight D. 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At his first coming, he saved us from the penalty of sin and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-coming-of-the-messianic-king-occurs-in-two-stages-at-his-first/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/once-we-are-bound-together-to-our-brothers-by-a-common-good-that-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [The original Greek word "idiotes" referred to people who might have had a high IQ, but were so self-involved that they focused exclusively on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/the-original-greek-word-idiotes-referred-to-people-who-might-have-had/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [People who reject transcendent authority can no longer persuade one another through rational arguments; everything is reduced to personal opinion. Debates about ideas thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/people-who-reject-transcendent-authority-can-no-longer-persuade-one/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [I am a strong believer in the free market. I am a strong believer in capitalism. But, I am also a strong believer that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-am-a-strong-believer-in-the-free-market-i-am-a-strong-believer-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Leadership: The skill of influencing people to work enthusiastically toward goals identified as being for the common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hunter/leadership-the-skill-of-influencing-people-to-work-enthusiastically/) [James Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hunter/) > [“Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/government-is-instituted-for-the-common-good-for-the-protection/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [When it all boils down, its about embracing each others stories and maybe even finding that synergy to collaborate for the common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhani-jones/when-it-all-boils-down-its-about-embracing-each-others-stories-and/) [Dhani Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhani-jones/) > [Even the best weapon is an unhappy tool, hateful to living things. So the follower of the Way stays away from it. Weapons are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/even-the-best-weapon-is-an-unhappy-tool-hateful-to-living-things-so/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Throughout the 1980's, we did hear too much about individual gain and the ethos of selfishness and greed. We did not hear enough a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/throughout-the-1980-s-we-did-hear-too-much-about-individual-gain-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 375 Common good quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-good/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Don’t waste the rest of your time here worrying about other people—unless it affects the common good. It will keep you from doing anything useful. 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