If the answer is no too many days in a row, I start doing something else.
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I want to step back from psychology a bit today and talk about death as a motivator, because it’s a theme that has come up several times in my reading over the years, and I think it’s an important aspect of motivation that people either don’t know about or willfully ignore.
You WILL Die One Day
Quite simply, death is inevitable, but no one wants to think about it. In fact, we put it so far out of our minds that it becomes sort of unreal; we are aware that one day we will die, but we haven’t actually integrated that knowledge in to our lives.
In reading and hearing about cancer patients I’ve heard a story similar to the following one told a few times. The person learns that they’re probably going to die fairly soon, and suddenly, all the extraneous little things that they were so worried about aren’t even worth thinking about, much less worrying about. Their entire lives get reprioritized and they realize just how precious time is, and they realize that they’re wasting their time with silly little things that don’t really matter.
For these people, death is a wake up call.
I think this quote fits nicely:
“Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.”
– Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
The Ultimate Motivation
I know that people are often looking for daily motivation techniques. They have the knowledge to change, but they lack a reason or a push to get them started.
Death, I think, is one of, if the not the most powerful motivator out there. It’s not a fun topic to think about, but it works.
Somewhere, I can’t recall now, I heard about someone who would wake up and look at himself in the mirror. He would ask himself, if this was my last day on earth, would I still do the things I’m going to do today?
If the answer was no too many times in a row, he stopped doing what he was doing and started doing something else. Nice and simple.
I’ve adopted this practice of daily motivation, and I would encourage everyone reading this to try it out. It’s a simple, powerful way to look at the world, and it puts your life in perspective in such a dramatic way that you can’t help but be motivated to make positive changes.
The man who said that he “who would wake up and look at himself in the mirror. He would ask himself, if this was my last day on earth, would I still do the things I’m going to do today? If the answer was no too many times in a row, he stopped doing what he was doing and started doing something else.” is in fact Steve Jobs.
I believe you can find him saying that on YouTube in a Stanford University commencement speech.
Thanks for letting me know Rodney, I’ve seen that speech so that’s definitely where I picked it up.
Great post, Stu. As a cancer survivor, I use death as a motivator every day. That quote, by the way, was Steve Jobs during a Standford U commencement address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA
Live like you were dying. That phrase should seem almost comical. Yet too many people walk around acting like they are going to live forever. We need to wake up and realize death can come at anytime and not have to wait for a near-death experience or told you’re dying soon to start living the life you truly want.