Memento Mori Journal #8

Day 8 — Do Not Fear

“Why should I fear death? If I am, then death is not. If Death is, then I am not.
Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not?” — Epictetus

While Memento Mori urges us to use the finiteness of life as a motivator to fulfill it, it can also cause a problem:

The overwhelming fear of death.

When you become deeply aware of your mortality, it can become easy to close yourself off from any sort of perceived risk.

In some cases, this is wise. You should not be risking your life over trivial stuff.

In other cases, though, your perception becomes skewed.

You begin living sheltered from all risks in hopes of not making mistakes.

While this may seem smart at first, it becomes clear what it actually is, once you peel its layers back:

A trick from the mind in search of comfort.

Yes, you only have one life, and time is always ticking away, but the only way to claim it and fulfill it is by living as if you had died already and came back one more time.

Start that business you’ve had on the back of your mind for years, go talk to that cute girl at the bar, buy the tickets, and take that trip.

Build discipline, focus, and bravery to conquer the obstacles in your path.

Do all of this knowing that the grim reaper is coming for you.

You cannot escape death, but you can escape the regret of a life wasted away.

Question to journal on:

1. Which risks have you been avoiding taking as far as your career goes? (starting a business, asking for a promotion, etc.)
2. What about your relationships? (moving on from a bad relationship, setting boundaries, etc.)
3. What about your health/fitness? (Here it’s normal if the answer is “none”)
4. Write out all the risks in order of importance.
5. You don’t need to take them all right away, however, I strongly suggest you commit to the #1 on your list.
6. Schedule when you’ll begin working on it.

You probably feel some butterflies in your stomach thinking about doing this, however, you know eventually, you must get to it.

The more you delay, the harder it will be.

Delay long enough and you’ll take it to the grave with you.

Farewell and best of luck.