December 19th, 2012
Wednesday Wisdom: Life Is Short, For Fuck Sake, Do What Makes You Happy
I was just reading a study that said the moment a patient is told they have terminal cancer, a profound shift in their psyche occurs. Suddenly, the things that seconds before seemed so important, lose their importance. And things that didn’t seem to matter much before, become top priority.
Why is this?
When the mystery is taken out of how long we have to live, when the unknown factor is removed, we approach life as though it is to be lived in exactly the ways we want. The important things like love and family and personal happiness and fulfillment take center stage while those things we stressed about before (that deadline or making the most money or worrying about that relationship that wasn’t working anyway) seem to disappear.
We’ve all heard it before. We must seize the day. We must live like we are dying. We must do what makes us happy. But for fuck sake why don’t we? Why do we still worry all the time? Why don’t splurge more often? Why don’t we love more freely? I suppose it is human nature, or rather learned human behavior. But it doesn’t have to be this way.. We have the power to change it all. It’s just a decision. And then a commitment to that decision.
So what decisions do YOU need to make? What changes in your life need to be made?
Don’t wait until you’re dying, to start living.
Xo,
Sally
so. true.
i think that we need approval so badly and (not knowing we can give it to ourselves) fill out lives with things we think will make others happy and then we let ourselves feel good. but it never really feels good. the approval of others will never feel as good as complete self expression.
and i thought you might like this: http://marketingforhippies.com/death-and-marketing-top-five-regrets-of-the-dying/
Thank you so much for sharing your article. It’s AWESOME. Full of amazing quotes and inspiration. And I love the connection you made with dying, regrets, marketing, and purpose. Very very cool.