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live life backwards

we are short-sighted people, driven by the heat of the moment.  most of the time we don’t see further than our noses.  i, personally, am notorious for telling people i live my life t+2 hours at a time (the current time it is now plus 2 more hours).  in other words, if it’s not between now and two hours from now don’t ask me about it because i haven’t even considered it.  there is enough going on right here and right now that i don’t have the time nor desire to consider something a week in advance.  i will deal w/ it when i get there (or, i guess 2 hours prior would be more accurate).

but like always, the perspective from which we view things so heavily impacts how we approach life. so what if we changed that approached?  what we if we lived life backwards?  not benjamin buttons “life backwards” but what if we lived life like we wish we would have on our deathbed (p.s. i’m pretty sure there is a quote like this already in existence and i will pay $5 to the person who shares it with me).  what if we imagined those last moments before we passed away, where we were considering what we would change if we had another chance, and lived life so there was nothing we would do differently? what would that look like?

who we would spend more time loving?  would we spend 100 more hours working or playing?  would we follow the crowd or choose to make more extraordinary decisions? would we chase our passions or our paycheck – or perhaps find a way to do both?  what would change?  how would we spend our days?

going forward, i want to live my life backwards so that the only thing i am wishing for on my deathbed has to do with getting a few last taste of the simple pleasures of this life .

note: last week i buried a good friend and coworker.  not only was she was kind, caring, and loving but i believe she truly lived life backwards. this is the second time she inspired me to write (click here to see the first one), and i am thankful for having known such an amazing, amazing person.

  • by detavio
  • posted at 9:44 am
  • January 25, 2010
  • http://www.facebook.com/jamaalthomas Jamaal Thomas

    Great post. Not sure about the quote you referenced but I first learned of a similar concept from Stephen Covey. Begin with the End in Mind has become a habit I try to keep top of mind as often as I can. Mr. Covey suggest an exercise that has been extremely beneficial to me. Its an exercise where you write what you would want people from different areas of your life to say about you at your funeral. It really serves to put your life into perspective and heightens the importance of moment to moment decisions. Begin with the end in mind works for shorter periods of time as well albiet a year, a week, a day or 2 hours.

    I haven't been using the principle as much as I would like lately. Thanks a lot for the reminder.

  • http://www.detavio.com/ detavio

    @jamaal ~ begin w/ the end in mind is a great way to think about it. i especially like the approach/thought to use it for shorter periods of time as well. thanks for the thought. oh yea, not knowing the quote just means you don't get the $5. ha.

  • http://www.detavio.com/ detavio

    @jamaal ~ begin w/ the end in mind is a great way to think about it. i especially like the approach/thought to use it for shorter periods of time as well. thanks for the thought. oh yea, not knowing the quote just means you don't get the $5. ha.

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