“We shall all die! Bear this in mind always, and then the spirit within will wake up. Then only, meanness will vanish from you, practicality in work will come, you will get new vigour in mind and body, and those who come in contact with you will also feel that they have really got something uplifting from you.”
— Swami Vivekananda
If we’re going to die in the end, of what use is doing anything that we do in life?
Death, dear friend, gives life purpose. A project without a deadline never gets completed. Likewise, life without a deadline cannot be meaningful. We would amble aimlessly, which is worse than hell.
No doubt the thought of death is heartbreaking and gloomy. But persist, Swamiji said to a disciple who posed the same question.
“Then you will see that new strength has come into the heart, and the constant thought of death is giving you a new life and is making you more and more thoughtful. . . You will feel that the spirit within is waking up with the strength of a lion, that the little power within has transformed into a mighty power.”
Steve Jobs echoed this philosophy in his Stanford commencement speech:
“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.”
Each morning, look in the mirror and ask yourself the same question that Jobs did: If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?
If the answer has been “No” for many days in a row, it’s time to change something.