30 Days to Live: How will it change you?

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“Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.” – Alan Sachs

Photo by Andrew Wild

Imagine you were told you have 30 days to live.

How would this change you?

Would you begin to live life differently? Would your overall perspective change?

Assuming you wouldn’t resign living and become depressed, this news could have a positive and profound influence on how you view the time you have left.

The idea of living like you’re dying can be an eye opening consideration. It would influence who you spend time with, what you spend time doing, and what you view to be truly important. It would provide a chance to see the crystal clear truth about what your life is all about.

There is a book entitled One Month to Live, which explains how drastically life can change when we change our paradigm about existence, and start living a no regrets lifestyle. This means following our passions, embracing each moment, and living life to the fullest.

When we have “our whole life ahead of us,” it can be tough to accept this perspective.

Though, many people show that living life to fullest can be done now. Just take a look at the examples of Chris Guillebeau, Tim Ferriss, and Neil Patel. They recognize their potential and are following their passions.

You may not be ready to give your life a total overhaul, but apply what you can from this concept and start living life to the fullest now.

Below are few perspective changes that can come from living like your dying.

Write down 5 changes you would make if you only had one month to live

What are the things you would do differently knowing your life is cut short. Maybe you would spend more time with friends and loved ones. You might want to travel or experience places and events that before seemed too scary. You may even finally get the courage to quite your day job that causes you so much unhappiness.

It can be freeing to consider the impermanence of life, and it can help in discovering your true priorities.

So, what’s on your list? Is it all those important values and experiences that tend to be taken for granted, that you feel you don’t have time for and are too unrealistic?

These neglected areas may be the most important things. Being focused on the future prevents us from doing what is truly valuable now. To live without regrets, you must decide what your real priorities and values are.

Uncover your Frozen Dreams

What are your dreams that got covered up from a lifestyle of security and safety? Think about the gifts and dreams you have always held inside but never released because they weren’t practical enough.

These frozen dreams are your calling, and have always been there, but some rationalization prevented you from pursuing them.

If you knew you had one month to live, you would probably follow your passions and step out of your comfort zone.

You would have nothing to lose and could finally take the risks that before seemed like such a big leap. What would be the worst that could happen? Maybe you would fail, but at least you would’ve tried while you still had the chance.

Embrace Forgiveness and Gratitude

Knowing that you have 30 days to live might give you humility and courage to finally forgive yourself and others for all the past digressions. It could provide the means to start seeing the positive in many everyday occurrences as well.

Letting go of grudges and embracing forgiveness might be one of healthiest decisions a person can make. In general, the only person hurt and impacted by holding onto bitterness and resentment is you. The person you’re resentful towards in probably on a beach somewhere totally unaware of how you feel.

Embrace forgiveness for your own well-being. Once you accept that your time here is limited, it becomes much easier to look at the glass half full and realize how lucky you are to simply have a chance to experience life.

If you had one month to live would you start to forgive and be more grateful for the little things life has to offer? Can you start now?

Live one Day at a time

Many people rush around feeling confined by their routine and deadlines. If you knew you didn’t have many years ahead of you, your perspective on time would really change. You might start to cherish each moment and develop patience and serenity.

You could embrace the present, and appreciate the small joys that each day offers. It wouldn’t be worth it to feel rushed and overwhelmed.

This can be tough to do when the future seems so broad, but when it comes down to it; you never know when your time will come. We look toward the future in anticipation of achieving our aspirations for success, and forget to enjoy the little things in life.

It’s time to stop rushing through life. Just because many experiences don’t directly help you to reach your goals, doesn’t mean they’re impeding your progress. It’s an important part of the journey to where you’re supposed to be. Appreciate each moment for what it offers and teaches you.

Life’s too short

Having any sort of loss in life can make you contemplate your own mortality, and realize that you could be gone any moment. We really don’t know what might happen. This can be scary and may sound a little morose, but it can also be freeing and eye-opening. It can provide a perspective for how we really want to live.

Do you want your last memories to be fraught with anger, resentment, and discontent, or do you want to experience each moment with an appreciative and compassionate outlook?

Life’s to short to live without purpose and meaning. If you have dreams to pursue, relationships to mend, and experiences to fulfill, why not go for it?

You won’t always have the chance.

Keep Reading! Related Posts:

What’s your Gratitude Cycle?: Here’s how to be more grateful

Feeling Tense? How to Reduce Stress and Anxiety through Breath Work

How to Stay Grateful No Matter What the Circumstances

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http://www.2achieveyourgoals.com Dia

Hi Joe,

We should always live as if we had only 30 days to live. We have to give, love, forgive like there is no tomorrow. We have to take action daily and live in peace and harmony. Thanks Joe for sharing
Joe – shakeoffthegrind

Dia,

Thanks so much for your comment. It would be a great thing to always live life with our impermanence in mind. I like the you way you put we need to approach life “like there is no tomorrow.” We really never know when we won’t have the opportunity we are “waiting” for. This is why it’s so important to take strides now!
Calexblackwell

Inspirational perspective to the preciousness of life. Here are my five changes if I had one month to live:
1. Do more; worry less.
2. Make more friends.
3. Forgive my mother.
4. Love myself – and mean it.
5. Be fully present for everyone who wants my attention.

Alex
http://www.upgradereality.com Diggy

Hey Joe,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment on my blog! Really appreciate it!

I’ve asked myself the question of what I would do if I have 6 months to live many times. It makes all your worries and problems shrink to miniscule proportion. If you only have such a short amount of time left, you want to make it count the most.

The problem is that we all live as if we still have decades to live. While that may be true, you never know what tomorrow will bring, and I really think that you should try to do as much of what you want as possible. Not to an absurd degree, but consider if how you are living is how you are happy to spend your time if you only had 30 days to live as you say.

Keep up the good work!
Cheers
DIggy
Joe – shakeoffthegrind

Alex,

Thanks for providing your 5 changes. It’s a very powerful consideration to make. I particularly like #1 and #5. Those seem like they are areas where most people have difficulty. It can be tough to really implement these things in everyday life, though the consideration offers a chance to respect the life we are given and do the most with it. Thanks so much for commenting!
Joe – shakeoffthegrind

Diggy,

Thanks for stopping by and leaving your insights! Knowing when our temporal life is coming to an end would change how we approach every detail I believe. I seems it would lead to putting more thought into how we spend each day and really consider if we are getting the most out of our time left. I agree that doing as much as we can with what we have now embodies this notion of making it count. This is the powerful opportunity of making uncertainty our ally in living a magnificent life. Thanks again!
http://thedropoutkid.com Jonathanfigaro

When it comes to life, we do one of a few things.
1. Never think about the future.
2. Resent everything about the past
3. And repeat it in the present.

Here what you need to do.

1. Work on finding joy in what you do.
2. Go hard.
3. Live everyday like its your life, by creating an early affirmation to it.

Reuse, recycle, repeat…Never refuse, an open mind is the only way you can land on change.
http://thesimplelivingblog.com/ Alex Yong

Matthew 6:34 says : “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

We should always live everyday by :

1. As in the above verse – Do not worry for worrying does not solve any problem.

2. Clear up life’s baggage – heavy baggage creates unnecessary frictions and drags our life.

3. Be loving and kind – you’ll leave a legacy that people will always remember not for your material wealth, but for your loving and kind character.

4. Get rid of ego and be humble.

5. Take good care of ourselves.
Joe – shakeoffthegrind

Jonathan,

Thanks for commenting and bringing up the idea that people can get stuck ruminating on the past or always thinking about their future. When we get into this cycle we forget about how valuable the present really is. We start to actually resent the time it takes to reach our goals, instead of cherishing the precious time we have. I like your notion of “never refuse,” I agree that to be open-minded is the key to finding true value and appreciation for life.
Joe – shakeoffthegrind

Alex,

Welcome, and thanks so much for commenting! Great suggestions, and really great verse! I think that sums it all up. There really is no need to self-impose more worry, confusion, and stress in our life. Life will have it’s ups and downs, but our goal is not to focus on this, it’s to live life in a loving manner and be the best person we can be. Ultimately, keeping faith is what gives us the courage and ability to live a full and purposeful life. Thanks a bunch!
http://www.theemotionmachine.com Steven

If I had one month to live I would spend 1/2 of my waking hours writing a book that I want to leave behind for everyone and the other 1/2 of my waking hours spending time with loved ones.
http://www.alternaview.com/ Sibyl-alternaview

Joe: I really like this post. I think it is a great question to ask yourself and it really points you in the direction of what is really important to you. It really allows you to see what should be priorities in your life. I really agree with you that life is too short to live without purpose and meaning. Great thought provoking post.
Joe – shakeoffthegrind

Steven,

Thanks for your thoughts! I like your specific focus on what you would do, and how you would take full advantage of the time you had left. It’s interesting to consider if we really only had a month to live, could it be the best month of our life? Some how by changing our beliefs, I think it’s possible to really live every moment to the fullest and really approach life in this way, though with some restrictions of course.
Joe – shakeoffthegrind

Thanks Sibyl,

It really is an important consideration. Sometimes it takes a loss of a loved one or acquaintance to consider that our time is limited, but regardless of what elicits the reflection, it provides a chance to put things in perspective. I know I have a long way to go in order to feel I’m living a life based on true priorities and purpose, but by beginning to consider it, the truth becomes more apparent little by little. Thanks for commenting!
http://www.transformationalmotivation.com M. A. Tohami

Excellent post Joe. I would love to feature it as a guest post on my blog. What do you think?

I believe that the greatest tragedy in life is that we wait too long to live it!
Joe – shakeoffthegrind

Welcome, and thanks for stopping by! I really love how you mention “we wait too long to live.” I think that’s very true. Many times it takes a major life experience, such as a tragedy or loss to begin living a fruitful and meaningful life. In this sense we can the blessings in disguise behind difficult life experiences. Thanks for commenting!
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http://bestinversiontable.org/ Graham

I am still getting confused what does the word “Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives” mean? everyone dies but everyone lives, what does it mean? I need more explanation about the statement.
Cat

are u living a fulfilled life? anyone can live, but r u living? that’s what that means to me, i love that quote, it keeps me focused and to not allow life to pass by so quickly.
shakeoffthegrind

Thanks to both of your for stopping by. Cat I think you are right. We can just get by and survive or we can try to change our circumstances or attitude to live more fully and meaningfully. That is what it means to me. I try to live with passion and joy each day even during the down times, but it takes some effort and strategy.