As If It Were The Last Time

I don’t mean to sound morbid, but death really is a great equalizer. What if you lived life doing things as it were the last time you’d ever do it? How much would you cherish that last phone call with a parent? How meaningful would it be to tuck your child in goodnight, kiss your spouse good morning, or give your friend a goodbye hug for the last time? The significance of those experiences takes on an entirely new level, and becoming absorbed in the smaller moments makes you feel that much more alive.

Sometimes I feel like we can go through our lives on autopilot, not allowing ourselves to completely invest ourselves in what’s going on and immerse ourselves in the feelings of the moment. The reality is, anything we do, we don’t know if it will be our last time. It’s sad and scary to think about, but it’s true. And if that’s the case, then to me the question becomes “How can you live more in the present? How can you enjoy the richness and depth of each moment we experience?” The day to day moments are worth cherishing, and reminding yourself that they may be the last one is a great motivation to commit to experiencing them differently.

On a psychological level, treating things as if it’s the last time you’ll ever do it adds scarcity to the equation. If we have less of something, we tend to value it more. So if we want to live with more depth, and allow ourselves to be completely engaged by each opportunity and interaction we have, then we can use the ominous reality of death as our reason to immerse ourselves more completely.

Is it an emotional thought? Absolutely. But if you get the sense that life is just passing you by, try incorporating this idea into your experiences in the next few days and see how it makes you feel.