Before you go ahead with judging me on the title of the blog or raising alerts thinking that the writer of this blog is crazy (I’m not, my parents had me tested), hear me out. If someone were to ask you this question, what would you say? Take a minute to think about it. Are you ready to kick the bucket? Would you be okay if you died the next moment? What thought crosses your mind when you think of dying? Are you scared? Are you content with the life you have led so far? Would your mind wander into the things you desire?
It’s funny that we all know death is the utmost truth of life. It’s the final destination of what we call the journey of life, yet the thought of it scares us. It makes us anxious. Our mind jumps from this fear to all the things we have wished for or things on our ‘bucket list’. And before you know it, you are spiralling into the black hole; the thought of death makes us uncomfortable. Most of us even repent the life choices made because we don’t find ourselves in the place, we were supposed to be according to the plan. But none of us knows the real plan, what will happen, which moment is last, none of us is aware of life’s- what, when, where, why, and how. So, what can you do to be okay with death?
You have heard this before at least once- live in the moment. You might have considered committing to the idea but later dismissed it, calling it unrealistic. Because if you live in the moment and don’t think about tomorrow, how will you achieve the great things in life? How will you realise your dreams if you don’t plan for them? And you are right. That’s not the point.
Make long-term plans, work on them, save for tomorrow, and have a bucket list but make sure to have a fixed daily goal too. You see, the gratification from long-term goals isn’t a daily motivation boost for most of us, even if we are on the right path. So, have something that gives you a sense of accomplishment daily. Stop being hard on yourself. You are exactly where you are supposed to be in life. Your desires will be fulfilled, all in due time, but you need to find contentment and happiness with where you are. Now comes the fun part; ready for it? It’s an easy task but comes with practice.
All you have to do is ask yourself this every night when the head hits the pillow- will I be happy with the life I have led if I die tomorrow? Don’t judge yourself based on professional achievements. Make it personal. Make your happiness all about you. If the answer is no, ask another question- what could I have done today to change it? Think about those things. And when you wake up the next day, make sure to do at least one thing from that list. Result? The next night there would be one less thing on the list. Before you know it, there will come a night where the answer to the same question would be a spontaneous YES!
Living life with zero regrets and eradicating the fear of death is not that difficult. Keep your life’s goal simple and unconditional- live, love, laugh!
Sneha