Being conscious of your own mortality can help you live a better life.
This is an ancient truism, and for some reason, I keep seeing it everywhere I’ve turned of late, polished and presented anew.
Because he is stepping down from CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs has been repeatedly in the news. In his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, he said:
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
It’s a simple message, and yet, so moving.
And it’s not just him.
In the book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible, the wise King Solomon writes extensively about meaningless pursuits and death:
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
Thinking about death is also a Buddhist practice.
In her book, Married to Bhutan, Linda Leaming shares secrets on how to have an attitude that is “conducive to happiness.” She puts it, quite hilariously:
The first thing you do is think about death. Several times a day. This will clarify a lot for you.
There’d be a lot less dishonesty, cheating and meanness if people put this into practice. In my mind’s eye, I can hear protest: “If we all lived as if we’d die very soon, then nobody would go to work.”
I think that’s wrong, so long as one takes pride in the privilege of work, so long as it really means “to create” or “to improve.”
Steve Jobs thought about his own death every day, and he still chose to work rather than getting perpetually high or sloshed. He chose creativity and meaning.
In the words of cartoonist Hugh McLeod:
Death is what gives life its edge.
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Steve Jobs’s Stanford speech is one of my favorite speeches of all time. Thanks for the reminder.
I think about death a lot more since my kids were born. It is probably unhealthy. I worry about what will happen to Eric and the boys if I died while they were still little. I know it happens to many families, but the thought of leaving them to fend for themselves is unbearable. Maybe that’s why people push thoughts of death aside, because it’s too unpleasant to think about. But if you did think about it, then here’s hoping that you TRY to make every moment matter.
I think many people find fault with the idea of reincarnation for this reason – If you die, you get another go on the wheel of life and come back as something or someone else. But you’re never YOU again, are you? You still have to make this life count for something.
I must have read that speech 20 or 30 times over the years and it never fails to make an impression. I love how practical it is. Nobody can live every single day like it’s their last but he doesn’t say that, instead he says he changes things when he’s been doing what he doesn’t like for too many days in a row.
My favorite part is:-
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
I think that applies to almost every aspect of life, not just the career part.
Thanks for the mention and for putting me in such good company. I love it you saw the humor.
@Emily: You’re welcome! 🙂
@Tina: Thanks so much for sharing that. I agree, this life has got to count – no matter what happens next. Check out this Ted talk, it’s under five minutes: http://www.ted.com/talks/ric_elias.html
@Andrew: I read it for the first time two weeks ago, and was so moved. And then for the second time at an airport in the Canary Islands, and it brought tears to my eyes. That’s how you know it’s truth.
@Linda: Yes, you’re so funny! I loved the book and the magical world you describe. =)
I think about death a lot more,If what will happen when am dead or something that if there someone will miss me or cry with the feeling of falling your real tear or should I say tears from the deepest of your heart. It is probably unhealthy.:(
@Laura: Aw, I’m sorry. I don’t think it’s meant to be a depressing thing. Therapy maybe?
i just love your writings, you really made a good point. and you are encouraging people to do what we love to do and be happy everyday. so inspiring!