I’m sure you know the saying: “Live every day as if it were your last”. And I’m sure you’re thinking, “What hogwash.” To believe that we can live every day the way we live our last days on earth is naïve and idealistic nonsense about improving the world. It just doesn’t work.
At least not in the traditional sense. But I will show you a little trick on how to turn the old-fashioned proverb into a practical guide to a happy life. First:
What would you do if tomorrow was your last day?
Probably the same as 99% of all people in this world. We would settle a few last matters and then try to experience as much fun and joy as possible. For example, I would probably write letters to the most important people in my life, telling them that am grateful to them and how much I love them. If there was something to clarify, I would do so, just as I would forgive mistakes.
I would probably also quickly draw up a will to clarify the most important formalities, like who gets my unplanned book collection and where I would like my ashes to be released -or buried.
But then there would be an end to mourning after all, you want to enjoy the last day to the fullest and if you have to leave, then please do so with a roaring finish.
Good. Maybe not everyone would throw a party. Some want to stay alone with their loved ones and others try to quickly implement a few more items on the bucket list. But more or less, our last days would all be similar, we would spend time with our loved ones, have fun, enjoy, and find peace.
Why “Live Every Day Like It’s Your Last” Doesn’t Work
Chocolate for breakfast? Of course, not every day in our lives can look like this. All you have to do is take a moment to think about what you would do on your last day.
And? Do you have some ideas?
And now imagine that you are doing exactly that every day from now on.
Yes, exactly… That wouldn’t be so good, would it?
We can’t spend every day as if it were our last. Otherwise, after two months, we would have no money left and the landlord or bank would kick us out of our homes.
Friends and family members would turn away because no one would want to say goodbye all the time and probably we would have been addicted to drugs, and alcohol, be overweight, and in jail because we freed animals from cattle transports and ran around naked in public
No. We can’t live every day like our last.
At least not like this but here’s the trick.
It’s a life-changing trick, one I learned from the TV series “Sharktank” when someone introduced a different dating app. The difference? The people didn’t have to list what they were looking for or what they hoped to find in their new partner, instead, they had to list what they didn’t like. Clever! Mighty clever!
Reversed thinking? So much easier.
Now think about what you would definitely NOT do on your last day.
It’s best to write it down right away.
Or you can read through my list. Here it comes…
What I would definitely NOT do if tomorrow was my last day
- Care what others think or be annoyed by what someone said to me the other day
- Argue with my partner
- Be in a bad mood
- Be frugal
- Let myself be upset by little things
- Complaining that the weather is so wet/cold/dry/hot/grey/sunny
- Care what I look like and what size I wear
- Hurt others
- Get upset when I’m standing in the wrong line at the supermarket again
- Worry about the future
- Be ashamed of my own desires, dreams and wishes
- Wonder if I shouldn’t have behaved differently the other day
- Television
- Cell phone
- Argue with others
- Be focused on accumulating money
- Keep my feelings to myself and not admit when I’m in love/upset/scared/amused/hurt.
- Stress me out with 100,000 commitments
- Be online
- Do something I can’t stand
- Waste time playing on my phone or my computer
- Stay home alone
- Let others stop me from doing something I really want to do
- Diet
- Not take my needs seriously
LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST
The list goes on and on, but that’s enough for now.
So what kind of life would I lead if I didn’t do these things?
I’ll tell you. My life would look like this:
- There would be nothing and no one to spoil my good mood
- I would be guided primarily by my wishes and not by the expectations and ideas of others
- I would let the past rest and not burden myself with it anymore
- I would be kind, generous, and loving
- I wouldn’t worry about the future all the time
- Outward appearances such as money, beauty, etc. would not be so important to me
- I would take myself and my needs seriously
That doesn’t sound so bad. Or?
And what if you didn’t die tomorrow?
Then it’s still not a bad idea to behave that way. On the contrary, if you live this way every day, I promise you that you will become a happier and more fulfilling person and that there will be little to no regrets on your deathbed.
And this is the lesson we can learn from the saying. Not the parties, the drugs, or the bungee jump, but a life in which we have arrived in the present, behave kindly towards our fellow human beings, take our needs seriously, and concentrate on the essentials.
Live this way every day. Live every day as if it were your last –but approach it differently
Well, well, well, isn’t that a twist! Live every day like it’s your last? Reading this great post, I now say, let’s flip the script and live each day avoiding the stuff we’d never want to do on our last day. Suddenly, life’s looking a lot more like a breeze and a lot less like a last-minute scramble for fun. Here’s to avoiding bad moods and awkward supermarket lines. Cheers to living smarter, not just faster! Thanks for this.
The reversed thinking is an important part in my journey forward. It works so much better because for whatever reason, I know better what I don’t like then what I like.
So wise! Cheers!
I thoroughly enjoy your wit and writing, of course. I feel inspired to write a “definitely NOT last day” list. 🙌🏻
Thank you Michele, I am always pleased to see your beautiful face on my blog.
What a kind and welcoming comment to receive this morning. Thank you so much Bridget. 🌼
I think this way of living does help us live our best lives. Sure, we can’t live exactly like this is our last day but we can try to learn how to live our best lives from that.
It’s surprisingly easy to think backward. 🙂
I like the way you altered this old adage. You made some very thought provoking points. I know I need to live more in the present daily… it is just so easy to get lost in old ways though, especially those habits I lived for years. Great post Bridget!
It’s reversed thinking, it works like a charm. As for living in the past, it’s tempting to not let go, because it can’t surprise us, we know what happens. 🙂
Thinking this way is an eye opener. I have a magnet on my refrigerator that says, ” A year from now, what will you wish you would have done today.”
So true!
Enjoying each and every new day that kindness and good will can again be shared. 🙂
🤍
I like your ideas here. Especially about writing letters to people.
I think by now you know that I wasn’t raised by my parents, they were unfit, violent alcoholics.
I held a grouch against my mother for many years, until a friend ask me to write to her. By then I assumed her dead. We had no contact for almost 30 years, I saw her only twice after I moved in with my grandma at the age of 7.
Anyhow, still I could not let go of this part of my past and forgiveness was not an option, because some things are in my books unforgiveable.
So, in my mid thirties, I wrote to my birth giver one night and was surprised by how long the letter was when I finished it. I read it out loud, days later, alone in our back yard and after that I could let go.
Give it a try!
(Sorry for the long remark)
There are hurts that no child should ever have to endure. It breaks my heart what you went through. I was in a different kind of situation where I was dealing with domestic violence. It was hard, and trying to forgive is the worst part. Especially when the person doesn’t ask for forgiveness or even think they’ve done anything wrong. I think writing a letter and reading out loud is a good idea, and I’m glad it helped. I wrote a few emails that I never sent. It was much easier to forgive what I went through. It was harder to forgive what the children went through. And I still struggle sometimes. But, forgiveness is necessary to move on and let go. It doesn’t free them from what they did, but it frees me.
I love your comment. You can write as much as you like. 🙂 xoxo
I am so sorry you had to deal with domestic violence. I am often in women shelters, when we give out bras, some of their stories are heartbreaking.
As for forgiveness, I truly believe not all things are forgivable.
I think the most important part is that we forgive ourselves, because too many of us walk around thinking that some of what happened might have been our fault.
Will I ever forgive my mother? No, but I set her free. She has a terrible childhood herself, her actions were a reaction to that.
It feels me with happiness knowing that I did not follow in her footsteps.
I had a bad first childhood and the most wonderful childhood afterward when I lived with my grandma. The first seven years against eleven years of joy. Maybe that’s why I could let go. I consider myself lucky and very fortunate. What a remarkable life I had so far -and still going strong. 🙂
Yes, I do see what you mean about setting her free as opposed to forgiveness. It sounds like you made a good life for yourself and didn’t continue the cycle that is often present. I do agree with your perspective. You are amazing, my friend! 😘❤️❌⭕
I don’t see my reply here. I reckon it’s lost in cyberspace somewhere. lol
I just wanted you to know I agree with your perspective 100% regarding forgiveness and letting go.
Kymber writes encouraging notes to people every day, right here on WordPress! I’ve been the beneficiary of a few of them, so I know how much they can brighten up a gloomy day. 👌✨
Good advice. I try my best, but it is increasingly difficult to let no-one spoil my good mood!
You need a worry chair too.
My momma used to say, “If you’d send those letters to all you wanted to say goodbye to, how long would it take? If you started on them today, your ‘to-do’ list on your last day would be shorter. Write some today. Be nice to someone today. Write your will this week. Go outside to your favorite spot today. Write 1 chapter of your novel today…”
Then when your last day does come, the time you spend with your loved ones is not dictated by your list of things to do before you die.
Your mom was a remarkable woman too. She was so right. We all kick to many cans down the road, don’t we.
I need to spend a great deal of time thinking about this
I like that because I know you mean it.
We are often so busy thinking about yesterday or worrying about tomorrow that we are unable to live in the moment. Gratitude is the attitude. There are many things we can not change, so we need to let those go and deal with where we are right now. Happy Sunday. Allan
Not all of us had a happy past. So often so many thing are still hanging in the air, unsaid, on our minds for years, decades. It’s not that easy to let go, but necessary. You can’t walk backward into the future.