You Are Going To Die
Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash
One day in the, hopefully, not so distant future, you are going to die. It’s an inevitable truth that we all have to come to terms with eventually. It’s one of two guarantees in life: change and death.
It’s weird to start thinking about your mortality; it tends to put things in perspective.
There’s no getting around the fact that you are going to die. Heck, we’re all dying at this very second. If you so choose to frame it that way.
When’s the last time you thought about your mortality?
There is something about knowing you’re going to die. When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, we were faced with the unfortunate reality that he was not going to be around much longer.
There’s something funny about knowing you’re dying. It makes you think about life.
It makes you stop for a second. You think about your life and everything you’ve done.
When I stop and think about death, I realize just how short life is. If life is short, shouldn’t I make the most of it?
You should take life by its’ balls and really take advantage of the time you have. After all, you’re not going to be around forever.
If you knew you were going to die in a week, how would that change your behavior?
What would you do differently? What chances would you take?
When faced with an end like this, you gain clarity about what matters. With ends, you figure you only have so much time left and you might as well make the most of it.
Why not stare your fears in the face and tell them off? If your time on earth is limited and you get to choose how you live it, why not make the most of it?
This is why the YOLO trend took off so well. For some reason, younger generations seem to be more in tune with life.
They are changing the life script and doing things older generations never dreamed of doing. It could be because everything is so accessible now, making it so there are fewer barriers in the way of pursuing what you want.
Regardless, what would you do if today were your last day? Obviously, you can’t piss off work, but you can gain courage and speak up for yourself. You could take a chance on something.
You’re only going to be alive for so long.
Dying is the end of it. Nobody has a clue what happens after death. Maybe your faith has answers or you’ve come up with your own, but none of them have been proven.
Life is short and life is precious.
Don’t take it for granted. You can play life safe and never do anything. Chances are you’ll end up at 80 with regrets about the things you didn’t do. Or you can take a risk.
Do the things you want to do unabashedly. Go after your dreams or your wants. Nothing in this life is guaranteed.
As you take those chances, maybe you learn you never wanted it anyway and you change course. But you’ll never know until you try.
There are so many unknowns in life. There’s so much out of our control. But you can take back control today.
Your life had so much untapped opportunity and there are so many wonderful things to enjoy. Time shouldn’t be wasted on stupid, petty things.
It’s all about perspective.
Life is both long and short, but what are you going to do with it? Truth is, you’re not going to live forever. You have no clue how long you’ll live. You could be hit by a bus tomorrow.
Take solace in the fact nothing ever stays the same. So even though the good times will pass, so will the bad. That’s why we have to learn to appreciate the moment we’re in. Because that’s all we’re guaranteed.
We can’t predict the future. You can’t change the past. All that we have is the here and now, and you get to choose what you want to do with your life.
There are so many wonderful things you have yet to explore. So many experiences that will make your heart soar, and yeah some of them will make it crack too. That’s life. What are you going to do with yours?
