BC: Death...

"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." -Steve Jobs, in a 2005 speech

This advice, in my opinion, is completely and utterly useless.  Just think about it, if you lived like each day was your last, you'd only get so far.  Think of the expenses, the time you're taking up.  It's ridiculously inefficient.  I'll give you a scenario:  Everyday, I will just be staying at home.  I'll order all the things I want, a 52-inch TV, the best computer system, a new car.  Pretty soon, I will die, but only because of the events that occurred, due to thinking I was going to die.  If you know you're going to die this very day, you might as well do everything you can to minimize the impact of your death to the community.  It may sound cruel, but death happens, it's unavoidable.

I also disagree with Steve Job's speech.  First of all, remembering that you would be dead help you with big choices?  I don't think you should be thinking about death, when faced with big choices.  You should think on how the big chance would have a positive or negative effect on your life, and decide based on that.  Secondly, stripping of all external expectations leads to only one thing, failure.  Having no expectations, makes you feel like you don't have to do anything.  That can only end up in a negative impact.  If you throw away all fear of embarrassment, or failure, then you wouldn't be able to improve upon yourself.  Remembering that I am going to die is the best way I know to FALL in the trap of thinking I have something to lose.  I am literally losing my whole life; my achievements, my failures, and my joys.  I think what Steve is trying to say, is that if you're going to die, do it anyways, however there are situations where that logic does not apply.  What if you could harm someone with what you're doing?  What if it has a degrading effect on others around you?  In my experience, trying to forget that something bad is going to happen generally helps to alleviate the stress and therefore reduces your chances of making a mistake in the big choices in life.


 People are always trying to view death as an important event, but in reality, everything dies.  Nothing can live forever, not even the hardiest of diamonds or the brightest of stars.  Everything has a beginning, therefore an end.  I know things like funeral and burials are necessities, and I agree, but people shouldn't be thinking about death.  They should be think about what lies beyond death, like the future of their grandchildren, or the future of their company.  They should be glad that they have lived an enjoyable life, and if not, then it is only their own fault for not doing anything about it.  For the people born to die, I know it's hard accepting, but you have to get over the fact of death if you want to enjoy every lasting moment of your life.  It's really sad when people throw away all they have, just because they're going to die.  At the end of the day, it's better to just forget reality, and live on, in your dreams.