Here is why you should live like youre immortal

Here is why you should live like youre immortalHere is why you should live like youre immortalIt seems like all my peers have this idea that being young is an excuse for leid living a satisfying life.But Millennials are elend the only group of people who hide behind excuses. We all do.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreI get it. Taking on responsibilities in life is scary. Its way cooler to have toast with avocado.But you know whats also cool?Building a meaningful career that youre proud of.Contributing to other peoples lives.Creating a product or service that is useful.Investing your money for your retirement.Yeah, but Im still young.Theres always tomorrowCmon. Stop hiding What are you waiting for?To everyone out there that doesnt feel fulfilled, I have one idea that I want to shareabflug living like youre immortalYes, I know it sounds weird. So give me two minutes to explain.Conv entional wisdom says that life is not forever, right?Life is shortYOLOLive nowAnd I agree with that as well.But when you live your life according to that philosophy, it doesnt make sense to do anything that takes a long time to pay off.If you think that life is short, why on earth would you do hard things? It doesnt make sense.From that perspective, its better to spend your money, go out every week, drink as much as you can, and live large.Ask yourself What does all that lead to?It doesnt take a scientist to answer that question. The answer is, nothing.Now, theres also another perspective on living That youre here forever.Think about it. How different would you live if I told you that youre never going to sie?When I look at myself, I used to live as if I were mortal. Id spend my money on clothes, gadgets, holidays. But I also seemed to be in a hurry. I wanted to achieve a lot of things in my life. And preferably, very fast.I also pursued many things at the same time. Just like a dog . Chasing every shiny thing out there. Or even chasing my own random ideas.But lately, Ive adopted a different mindset. Its an idea of, What if I were immortal?I know, it sounds like Im working on a hyperbolic chamber that promises eternal life. But trust me, Im not that delusional.Im talking figuratively.The first time I got this idea was when I read one of Marcus Aurelius MeditationsThink of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take whats left and live properly.Im parteicularly referring to the last part Living properly. What does that mean?I think everyone has a different perspective. To me, living properly means that Im satisfied with my life. That I can look myself in the mirror, and genuinely say, I like my life.Was I truly satisfied when I lived my life in the now? No, not really. I didnt have a real career, or a house, or anything that I was proud of. And why was that? I was too focused on the now. I wanted things to happen fast.Before you know it, youll be dead N ow, that mindset is fine to get started. Nothing works better than kicking someone in the butt by telling them theyre going to die.But once youre working on building a LIFE, its not helpful to think like that. Being present is a great thing, but like many things in life, dont overdo it.Thats why I like to live like Im immortal. Because when you live foreverYou have all the time in the world to build something.You can make mistakes and learn from them.Theres no pressure to make things happen fast.You treat people with respect because other people will also be around forever.This small tweak in my mindset has helped me to take a different view on life. Im not afraid to look 10 or 20 years ahead. That helps me to make better decisions TODAY.For example, Id rather save my money or invest it instead of spending it because I know that future Darius will benefit from that.But how about present Darius?Well, I talked about being satisfied, right? Odd enough, Im more satisfied when I SAVE my money. Or when I eat healthy food or work out every day.When I think about this idea, I find it fascinating how well it works.We all know were going to die (I recently even wrote an article about it). Thats a good and bad thing.Good because it gives us urgency.Bad because we lose sight of the big picture.How do you live? Like a mortal or immortal person?Whatever it is, I hope youre satisfied with your life. Because at the end of the day, thats what matters most.Thisarticleoriginally appeared onDariusForoux.com.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong peopleHere is why you should live like youre immortalIt seems like all my peers have this idea that being young is an excuse for not living a satisfying life.But Millennials are not the only group of people who hide behind excuses. We all do.I get it. Taking on responsibilities in life is scary. Its way cooler to have toast with avocado.But you know whats also cool?Building a meaningful career that youre proud of.Contributing to other peoples lives.Creating a product or service that is useful.Investing your money for your retirement.Yeah, but Im still young.Theres always tomorrowCmon. Stop hiding What are you waiting for?To everyone out there that doesnt feel fulfilled, I have one idea that I want to shareStart living like youre immortalYes, I know it sounds weird. So give me two minutes to explain.Conventional wisdom says that life is not forever, right?Life is shortYOLOLive nowAnd I agree with that as well.But when you live your life according to that philosophy, it doesnt make sense to do anything that takes a long time to pay off.If you think that life is short, why on earth would you do hard things? It doesnt make se nse.From that perspective, its better to spend your money, go out every week, drink as much as you can, and live large.Ask yourself What does all that lead to?It doesnt take a scientist to answer that question. The answer is, nothing.Now, theres also another perspective on living That youre here forever.Think about it. How different would you live if I told you that youre never going to die?When I look at myself, I used to live as if I were mortal. Id spend my money on clothes, gadgets, holidays. But I also seemed to be in a hurry. I wanted to achieve a lot of things in my life. And preferably, very fast.I also pursued many things at the same time. Just like a dog. Chasing every shiny thing out there. Or even chasing my own random ideas.But lately, Ive adopted a different mindset. Its an idea of, What if I were immortal?I know, it sounds like Im working on a hyperbolic chamber that promises eternal life. But trust me, Im not that delusional.Im talking figuratively.The first time I g ot this idea was when I read one of Marcus Aurelius MeditationsThink of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take whats left and live properly.Im particularly referring to the last part Living properly. What does that mean?I think everyone has a different perspective. To me, living properly means that Im satisfied with my life. That I can look myself in the mirror, and genuinely say, I like my life.Was I truly satisfied when I lived my life in the now? No, not really. I didnt have a real career, or a house, or anything that I was proud of. And why was that? I was too focused on the now. I wanted things to happen fast.Before you know it, youll be dead Now, that mindset is fine to get started. Nothing works better than kicking someone in the butt by telling them theyre going to die.But once youre working on building a LIFE, its not helpful to think like that. Being present is a great thing, but like many things in life, dont overdo it.Thats why I like to live like Im immort al. Because when you live foreverYou have all the time in the world to build something.You can make mistakes and learn from them.Theres no pressure to make things happen fast.You treat people with respect because other people will also be around forever.This small tweak in my mindset has helped me to take a different view on life. Im not afraid to look 10 or 20 years ahead. That helps me to make better decisions TODAY.For example, Id rather save my money or invest it instead of spending it because I know that future Darius will benefit from that.But how about present Darius?Well, I talked about being satisfied, right? Odd enough, Im more satisfied when I SAVE my money. Or when I eat healthy food or work out every day.When I think about this idea, I find it fascinating how well it works.We all know were going to die (I recently even wrote an article about it). Thats a good and bad thing.Good because it gives us urgency.Bad because we lose sight of the big picture.How do you live? Lik e a mortal or immortal person?Whatever it is, I hope youre satisfied with your life. Because at the end of the day, thats what matters most.Thisarticleoriginally appeared onDariusForoux.com.