Unlock A Richer Life By Contemplating Death
Next Big Idea Club
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When are you going to die?
Unless there's something you're not telling me, this is one of the great unknowns. And like many of the universe's mysteries, your inability to foretell your own death carries meaning with it. Arguably it makes meaning.
Death is not the opposite of life, after all, but something like its shadowy twin.
Many of us, especially in this hemisphere, shy away from this truth. We look at death glancingly, if at all. But we do ourselves no favors with this timidity. Let me suggest that your life will be noticeably richer if you fold death into it, if you can somehow let the reality of your eventual nonexistence vibrate through your day.
OK, that brief poetic digression was inspired by the recent book You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets by Jodi Wellman , one of my guests this week on the Next Big Idea Daily podcast. Jodi comes out of the famed psychology department at the University of Pennsylvania, where the discipline of positive psychology was more or less invented by the legendary Dr. Martin Seligman. She's also a certified trainer in the Penn Resilience Program, a curriculum offered to university students, first responders, hospital staff, and corporate clients who want to bring the principles of positive psychology into everyday stressful situations.
In her book, Jodi offers exercises to help you stare frankly at your own mortality, exercises like adding up the estimated number of Mondays you have left to live (based on average life expectancies). This idea also forms the basis for her consulting business Four Thousand Mondays.
Using ancient principles like memento mori and contemporary research on the psychological benefits of acknowledging temporal scarcity, Jodi offer practical techniques for adding vitality to your life by embracing its brevity. Our curator Daniel Pink says the book "will jolt you out of complacency and redirect your limited time toward joyful, meaningful pursuits."
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Hear Jodi Wellman explain how and why to override your death denial:
We also heard a lot of other big ideas on the show this week, like:
Life is but a brief candle, my friends. Let's enjoy its light and warmth while we can. Let me know in the comments below if this idea resonates with you.
By the way, if you're interested in having these and thousands of other big ideas right in your pocket, download the Next Big Idea app.
Keynote Speaker, Author of You Only Die Once, Founder of Four Thousand Mondays
7 个月Okay so I'm mildly biased, what with this being in part about my book (whee!), but I love your point here. I also love your line that, "Life is but a brief candle, my friends. Let's enjoy its light and warmth while we can." Brilliant, just brilliant ??.