Groggy.  Hungover.  Exhausted.  Anxious about the next deadline. Relieved to be on holiday. Glad for a romantic yesterday. Whatever of his faces met him first thing in the morning, the question was the same: If today was the last day of my life, would I want to be doing what I’m doing?  If he answered no too many days in a row, he knew it was time to change things.

The man who had this morbid habit wasn’t a monk living in a remote monastery, nor a grim philosopher wrestling with the meaning of life.  It was Steve Jobs.  He kept up this practice for decades after his ventures in India. It was also the practice he encouraged Stanford graduates to do themselves each morning to make sure that they were living a life of meaning.

And while it might seem like an empty platitude, even from one of the most successful men in the world, Jobs made good on his promise.  Despite suffering from pancreatic cancer and the end neigh, Jobs continued to work until his last day on earth.

His life was also imperfect.  He could be callous, manipulative, self-aggrandizing, and stubborn as hell.  But flaws aside, he was one of the great tech entrepreneurs and visionaries of the 20th century.  And asking himself that one question each morning was one reason why. In his own words:

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

The Tradition of Death Contemplation

Jobs isn’t the only one who’s harnessed the power of death to fuel their life.  It’s a tradition that stretches back millenia and ranges across continents and traditions.  In the Christian tradition, it’s called momento mori, or remembering death. At Mount Athos, a lonely Greek isle packed with Greek Orthodox monasteries, monks have been contemplating death for well over 1,500 years.  While monks there sometimes contemplate their mortality in the quiet of their cells, the monasteries also offer a more hands-on experience of death: catacombs.  Buried beneath the monastery, monks keep the remains of their fallen brethren and make regular visits to viscerally remind themselves of how fleeting this life is.

In the Buddhist tradition, it’s called marananusati, or recollection of death.  Even today, Buddhist monks visit cremation grounds to watch corpses decay before their very eyes.  In many countries, like Thailand where I ordained, such practices have been outlawed, but no worries.  2,500 year old meditation texts describe in graphic detail the decay of a corpse and a monk can simply close his eyes and visualize it for himself.  It’s also still common for wandering monks to stay in burial grounds or crematoriums to bring home the truth: life’s short; use your time wisely.

And while Hinduism doesn’t have a specific name for it, the contemplation of death suffuses its literature and practices.  To this day, some yogis smear their bodies with the ashes from the funeral pyre.  Others keep human skulls as tangible reminders of what awaits them.  And the scriptures emphasize, again-and-again-and-again: you will die soon; act now.

The universality of these practices speaks to its power.  When we know that our life is swiftly coming to an end-possibly within the next hour, we don’t waste time on the frivolous, court bullshit excuses, and buy the “I’ll start tomorrow” nonsense.  It’s now or never.

The Science of Death Contemplation

And since we’re living in the 21st century, there are also a slew of cool studies to back-up what those monastics’ve been going on-and-on about for centuries: thinking about death helps us live better.  Here are some of the highlights.

In a 2008 study, people were a whopping 40% more likely to help someone if they were near a cemetery than otherwise.  In a 2010 study, people who were regularly reminded of their own mortality were more likely to live more sustainably than those who weren’t.  And in another 2011 study, death reminders increased women’s willingness to get breast self-exams.

These studies aren’t out-of-the-ballpark demonstrations of the power of thinking about death, but they are pointing to its potential to inspire our better selves, whether it’s helping someone in need, recycle, or take better care of one’s health.

And while I’m still waiting on more solid studies to hammer the final nail on this one, there’s no need to wait.  Ultimately, these practices are about us.  Our bodies.  Our minds.  And its impact on those we love. If we try it, we can verify it for ourselves whether it’s really worthwhile, or a bunch of empty claims. After over a decade of practicing it for myself, I can say this stuff works.

The Practice of Death Contemplation

There are a thousand ways to practice death contemplation, but I’ll list out some simple and easy practices that don’t require longer than 5 minutes to get a boost from.

1. Morning Mirror. This practice is taken directly from Jobs’ own recommendation: after your morning shower, give yourself an honest look in the eyes and ask yourself, “If today was the last day of my life, would I want to be doing what I’m doing?”  You don’t need to give a long list of reasons for why your way of life’s justified or going off the rails.  Instead, just let the question sink into your heart and see what it stirs up.  You might feel confident, doubtful, or a list of defenses might spring forth.  Or something completely different.  Just check-in with what naturally arises after posing the question.  Then pose it again.  Then repeat until you feel like you’ve got the flavor.  The instructions laid out in a much crisper way:
   1. Look into your own eyes honestly.
   2. Ask yourself, “If today was the last day of my life, would I want to be doing what I’m doing?”
   3. Wait at least a minute and allow whatever comes up come up.
   4. Repeat.
      Note: Make sure to make and take time proper. Rushing through it while gargling mouthwash might check-off the box but it won’t inspire change.  Give yourself at least five rounds of asking and checking in.
2. Death Visualization. A number of Buddhist traditions practice various forms of this, but it requires a bit more time and quiet to pull off.  Sit or lie down and close your eyes. Then, visualize all of the ways that you could possibly die within the next year.  Visualize them as graphically as possible.  If it’s a horrific car accident, imagine the moment before impact, the feeling of the steel tearing into your intestines, of the hot blood pooling about you and the sounds of cars zipping past.  Imagine what the scene would look like. The red glow of the ambulances washing over the scene.  The scent of petrol.  Then you can re-imagine this scene or change to another scenario. The more vivid and multi-sensory, the better.  Another option is to visualize or think about all of the people that you know of, personal friends or historical persons, and how they’ve passed away or how people that are still alive might pass away.Some people practicing this make the mistake of telling themselves about death, but that’s not how our minds are wired.  We’re creatures of senses and feelings first, reason second.  If you’ve ever attended a beloved one’s funeral, you know how visceral the sense of loss and brevity of life is.  At that moment, you don’t need to think about it or say to yourself, “Yea, life’s so brief, I have to do better.”  It overwhelms you.  That’s what this visualization practice should do: inspire awareness of one’s own mortality through a vivid experience of it, rather than an abstract description.To simplify the steps:
   1. Visualize a possible way that you can die in as much detail as possible, drawing on as many different senses as possible.  Or visualize someone you know of and how they passed away or how your beloved one’s might pass away.
   2. Change scenarios and repeat.
      Note: Give this at least 5 minutes to sink in.
      

Facing Death to Face Life

Asking yourself how much longer you have left isn’t a guarantee that you’ll come out with a new iPhone or be on Forbes’ 30 Under 30.  What it does do is give you a boost to push a little harder to be the best version of you.  That might mean having 100k followers on Twitter and a six-figure salary.  It might also just mean your a more loving father who chooses integrity over cutting corners.  As a final word of caution, like with all good medicine, there are risks and side-effects. Start with small sessions and work your way up. Give it at least two weeks of regular practice to see if it’s kicking in.  Stop if you find yourself feeling apathetic or depressed. Ok, well, disclaimer over, let’s end it on a high note: finally, may you be the best you you can be today, for who knows whether tomorrow will come.