Monday Inspiration: Only 7 Days to Live

Life is a funny thing…We treat it as this limitless resource when nothing could be further from the truth.

Every day we wake up and completely take for granted the fact we are indeed awake.

Think about the magic there…you woke up. You are alive. Breathing, thinking, feeling…that of and in itself is a miracle.

Obviously thinking about the inevitable—that one day when you won’t wake up—is a total buzzkill. Yet, it’s also important, because the more you acknowledge your own mortality, the more effectively you can live fully in the moment and true to yourself.

Think about it… Would you go about your day differently if you knew it was your final week on Earth?

You probably wouldn’t waste time sitting in rush-hour traffic, feuding with a sibling, or binge watching The Price is Right.

So, today, I want you to sit down and outline how you’d live your life if you only had one week left.

What Would You Do?

So you’ve got seven days left—how will you spend your time?

Are you going skiing every day? Eating at Michelin-Star restaurants? Taking in the sunrise every morning? Writing or painting all day long?

As you make your list, pay attention to what’s making the cut. Is there a theme you can extract? Are all your remaining activities tied to the outdoors? The arts?

Take heed of those themes and then ask yourself: How am I making these themes a part of my day right now?How can I make these themes part of my day immediately?

Use the insights you gain to start living a life that is more true to your identity.

How Would You Behave?

Everyone has good and bad days.

But if you only had seven days left, would you let those seven days turn sour? Or would you focus on being the happiest, most energetic, most loving person you could be?

My hunch is, you’d aim for more of the latter and less of the former.

With only seven days left, there isn’t much of a point to being angry, grouchy, or unkind—especially if you want others to think kindly of you once we’re gone. Or if you want to die with a peaceful heart and mind.

Take that knowledge and apply it your life right now. Don’t wait for some terminal diagnosis to start being a brighter, cheerier person. Be that person today!

Open your heart and let the good vibes flow. Life is too short to do anything else.

Who Would You Forgive?

Speaking of being a brighter person, your waning days mean it’s time to kick those grudges to the curb.

Plenty of people rub us the wrong way over the course of our lives—lovers lost, friends turned enemies, cutthroat co-workers, over-assertive parents, etc.—but when we reach the end of the road, what’s the point of holding on to those grudges?

Do you really want to taint your final few days with bitterness and enmity? Wouldn’t it be easier to let past digressions fall by the wayside so you could live freely and happily?

Of course, it would!

So why aren’t you living that way right now?

Who Would You Spend Your Time With?

This is always the biggest reality check for people performing this exercise, because it allows you to think about how much time and energy you squander on those who:

1. Don’t really matter to you
2. Don’t really care about you

It is astounding how much of every day we spend worrying about the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of people who (sorry to sound callous) don’t really matter.

But that’s the reality! If you only have seven days left, your time, energy, and focus become extraordinarily limited resources, resources you want to expend only on those nearest and dearest to your heart.

So if that’s the reality, why aren’t you giving these people the attention they deserve right now? What are you waiting for?

The Timer is Ticking

You might not be able to see how much time is left on the timer of your life, but that doesn’t mean the timer isn’t ticking away.

One day, that timer is going to run out.

So rather than living like your life is an infinite burden, start living like it’s a finite gift.

See your life as a gift you need to use and use well.

What would you change if you only had one week left to live?