by Thinking upon death and life I remembered some research I had recently read on the psychology about motivation.
In a study out of the university of Michigan, it was discovered that participants would see the future as closer if that future endpoint was expressed in days rather than years or months.
Daphna Oyserman the lead researcher said, ‘So when I think in a more granular way — when I use days rather than years — it makes me feel like the future is closer,’ going on, ‘If you see it as ‘today’ rather than on your calendar for sometime in the future, you’re not going to put it off.’
Now the ideas I had was to try this with your life span.
Take the average life expectancy in your country, subtract your current age, (both in years). Then convert that into days. How many days are left?
It doesn’t sound a lot does it?!!!
This is what the research is showing, but only until today did I think using it on my own existence.
It could of course be a lot less, or possibly more than this because life expectancy is just an average.
The real question then is ‘how does your result make you feel?’
For my part it makes me want to live more, live better, to do what my blog tagline suggests. Thrive, not just live.
This is the important bit. It’s using this idea to become more motivated to get on with achieving your goals and dreams.
The important thing though is not to panic.
Whilst the metric above is a measure of quantity of life. The really important thing to remember is the content of that life, its quality is what matters most. Nobody wishes their life was long and mediocre.
So use this countdown as a reminder that life is finite. One day it will all end. Remember it’s not just about living a long life, but a good one.
Consider the questions this countdown poses:
What do your want from your life?
What will be your legacy, your contribution?
What’s your purpose?
Where do you find meaning in your life, and the rest?
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Excellent post Richard. I just read a book that suggested death was our friend, not our enemy. It motivates rather than demotivates. Why should we fear anything if we are going to die anyway?
Too true Rob, but we will though. Death we often forget is closer than we think. We can survive just 3 minutes without air. That’s how close it is. If death felt a little closer I feel we would pay more attention to our lives. Thanks for the comment.