In 1977, two 747 passenger planes collided on a runway in the Canary Islands. One plane was attempting to take off in the fog, while a second plane was taxiing along the same runway. The passengers in the first plane were all killed instantly – incinerated as the plane bounced off the second plane and exploded down the runway. The roof of the second plane was ripped off in the collision, but most of the passengers were alive after the impact. Body parts were strewn about, eardrums were burst, and the plane was on fire, but the majority of the cabin was relatively spared.
What would you do if you were in the second plane? You probably think you’d unbuckle your seatbelt, jump to your feet and get out of the plane as quickly as possible. In fact, several people did exactly that. But several dozen others – the majority of passengers still alive at the time – stayed in their seats. As the other passengers ran past them out of the flaming wreckage, they made no effort to escape, seemingly unable to process what was happening to them. They failed to realize that sitting still would mean they’d be dead in a fuel tank explosion just moments later.
This is why living each day like it’s your last is stupid. With everything on the line, we don’t always make the wisest choices. We would like to think that if we were facing death, having our entire existence on the line, that we’d do the right thing. The fact is you have no idea how you will react when you are facing death. Studies have shown that people who are facing death act in ways completely different than how you would expect. We would all like to think that we’d have the common sense to get up and escape danger if we were in the second plane, but in the heat of the situation, the majority of us don’t. People don’t know how they’d respond if they had one minute left to live, much less 24 hours. It doesn’t make any sense to say you’re living like it’s your last day on earth when you have no clue what you’d actually do.
Usually when I hear someone say they’re living today like it’s their last, it’s because they’re about to do something irresponsible. When was the last time you heard someone shout “Carpe diem!” and then call their family to tell them they love them? No, when someone says “seize the day,” it’s more likely right before they order a piece of cheesecake they shouldn’t have, put something expensive on a credit card, or knock back that one shot of tequila too many. We’re not acting like there’s no life tomorrow, we’re acting like there’s no consequences for our actions today.
Think about it. If you really knew today was your last, the way you would behave is unlikely to be how you should act on a day-to-day basis. For example, if it’s my last day on earth, I’m definitely not going to work. Should I live like that every day? What happens when it turns out not to be my last day and I can’t pay my rent?
If it’s your last day on earth, you’re not going to write the first page of the novel you’ve always wanted to write. You’re not going to apply to go back to school. You’re not going to begin the cross-country trip you’ve always dreamed of, or a new sport or hobby, or learn to play the guitar. You don’t start a life-changing project when you have only one day to live. Living like today is your last is a cop-out. It’s what you do when you don’t want to deal with the daily work it takes to make your dreams come true. If you’re just seizing one day, you’re giving up on accomplish anything that takes more than a day to finish.
What if accomplished people actually lived every day like it was their last? Steve Jobs might have played on his computer, but he wouldn’t have created Apple. Bob Dylan might have played his guitar, but he wouldn’t have put in the work to become one of the most prolific artists of his time. Martin Luther King, Jr. might have given a speech, but he wouldn’t have changed civil rights forever.
People say you should live for today because it sounds good – it sounds like making the most of your present moment by enjoying life now. These are the same people who are spreading the myth of following your passion. They’re spoiled. They want everything, and they want it now. They think we shouldn’t have to ever spend a moment doing anything we don’t love.
I’d love it if that were true. But creating the life of your dreams requires doing tons of hard work – painful tasks that you will never feel like doing regardless how many days you have left. Give up the belief that you can reach your dream life by doing only things you enjoy. If that were true, a lot more of us would be living in that utopia. Suck it up. Being awesome takes work.
Instead of living each day like it was your last, how about living each day like the day you got off your butt and changed your life for the better? A better phrase to adopt: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Living today like it’s your last won’t do anything for your life tomorrow. Instead, today can be the day you quit a terrible habit. Today you can begin the hard work to change to a better career. Today you can make the decision to lose those 15 pounds you’ve been meaning to lose once and for all. These things that make your life better require looking forward, even if it means committing to do something painful today. Don’t live like your life could end tomorrow. Live like your life is just starting today.
The Mastermind Project 