| Start with the end in mind. Everyone dies. I try to die on my own terms. There's a lot to think about in death. How do you die? Who will be at your funeral? What do you leave behind? You can control how you die, by committing suicide. But that's wasteful. Your life is valuable. But like any valuable, you shouldn't just keep it locked up. Valuable things should be used or traded - risk your life something that can kill you but is worth it. Start a business, climb Everest, volunteer to help in a dangerous country, be an activist for something worth dying for. You'll want to think about what happens after you die. You'll have stuff. What happens to it? Does it go to your family? A cause? Does it disappear in a disorganized jumble? Also the afterlife. People have literally sat down for thousands of years pondering this. Don't reinvent the wheel; dig up what others have researched. As time goes on, a lot of religions are hijacked by people who want power. It's best to read the studies of early scholars than latter ones. At least two thirds of people were born with the wrong idea of the afterlife. Statistically, you're one of them. Don't idly follow whatever you were born into. Pick something consciously (your default is fine). Run experiments. If it doesn't click, try something else. Your life is exceptionally valuable. It belongs to only you. There's nothing wrong with being a cog in the corporate machine. There's nothing wrong with being an acstetic monk. You don't need to contribute anything into the world. You don't need to have a family or even a cause. But whatever you do with your life, it should be a conscious, deliberate decision. |