#20 What if you die tomorrow?
We definitely romanticise dying within 24 hours.
Have a difficult decision to make? Well, what would you do if you were dying tomorrow?
Think you’re not on the right path in life? Let me tell you what people’s biggest regrets are on their deathbeds to help you life your life.
And although I’ve actually used the confidence this “I’m dying tomorrow” mentality has given me quite a few times myself, I actually now think it’s not that great.
Why do we trust people on their deathbed? They’re not really that turstoworthy. They have nothing to lose. They have no further concept of a future and are seeing the past with rose-tinted glasses. Do we think if they managed to live for another 20 years they’d be hugging their kids every day and never raising their voice or caring about what others think? All because of this moment of regret?
Probably not.
So why do we take their advice, and is there a better way? For the first time I started wondering how I would approach life if I could rather live forever.
Not sure if I want to stay in medical school? Well, what’s the rush? Take a pause now, return to it in a few decades when it feels right.
Someone doesn’t like me? Well it doesn’t really matter at all. They’re probably going to end up hating and loving me again throughout the centuries anyway. What’s the rush, it’ll be fine in the end.
Don’t know what to do? Do what feels right in the moment, without damaging my future prospects, without rush or anxiety, because everything will be fine at some point.
It feels so terrifying to let go of things in the name of something which is absolutely impossible (living forever), but I honestly feel like, at least for me, it rids of me a lot of anxieties. Everything seems so much more temporary, unique, fleeting, valuable and peaceful. As though I want to appreciate the moment more. Not in the fumbling, anxiety-driven rush of losing it all, but in a loving, relaxed, curious way.
I wonder if this craziness makes sense to anyone else.
Best wishes,
Elizabeth
Full article, weekly favourites and quote here :)