Heads-up
Today’s topic sounds serious (and it is)… but it’s also surprisingly motivating. We’re talking about death—but in a life-affirming, “I’d better stop wasting time” kind of way.
If you’re not in the headspace for that right now, feel free to skip it or save it for later. Sending love either way. 💙
Sometimes no matter what you do, you struggle to get motivated to a task.
You know it’s important to you, and you want to do it – practise guitar, go to the gym a few times a week, read that self development book.
But every time you try to do it, you just can’t muster the motivation.
It got me thinking about getting to the real meaning behind why we do anything at all.
Socratic reasoning
You might have heard me talk about getting to the root cause of why we do things. Keep asking yourself “Why” over and over again until you get to something real.
“I want to get fit” Why?
“So I can look after my health.” Why?
“So I can still do the things I love into my old age.” Why?
“So I don’t need carers to take care of me and I can stay at home.” Why?
“Because I want to enjoy as much of my life as I can.”
A core motivator I always comes back to is making the most of my life.
Then I came across “Memento mori”
Memento mori
Memento mori means “Remember that you must die.” or “Remember death”.
I know it’s kind of intense.
This phrase isn’t about being morbid. It’s about clarity.
The Stoics—like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca—didn’t use it to be dramatic. They used it to live better. Not by fearing death, but by letting it sharpen their focus on what matters.
It’s easy to spend our days chasing the wrong things.
It’s even easier to spend them putting off the right things.
And yet… death has this weird way of cutting through the noise.
When you picture the end—even for a second—it suddenly becomes obvious which things are a waste of time.
And which things you’ve been waiting too long to do.
Memento mori is a shortcut to fulfillment
It forces you to ask questions we usually avoid:
- What have I been putting off that actually matters to me?
- Who haven’t I told that I love them?
- What part of me have I silenced because I think I have time?
- If I died tomorrow, would I be proud of how I’m spending today?
These aren’t fun questions. But they’re freeing.
They cut through guilt, procrastination, perfectionism—all the stuff that fogs up your sense of direction.
Because when you remember you’re going to die…
You also remember you’re alive.
And that means you get to choose.
Some simple ways to use this idea:
If you want to bring this into your daily life (without spiraling into existential dread!), here are a few ideas:
1. Try the Tombstone Test
Look at your to-do list and ask:
Would I be proud to have this on my tombstone?
(If not, it might not deserve your time.)
2. Write your eulogy
It sounds weird, but try it.
Write how you want to be remembered. Then compare it to how you’re currently living. What’s out of sync?
3. Use it to stop procrastinating
Next time you’re putting something off—starting that project, making that call—ask:
If I had six months left, would I still wait?
4. Choose a physical reminder
The Stoics used skulls. You can use a bracelet, a tattoo, a note on your phone lock screen.
Not to freak yourself out—but to wake yourself up.
I’m not a big fan of having skulls around the house! Instead, I use my year view calendar where I tick off everyday.
You can buy ones where you fill in a dot for every week of an average life span too. It’s scary how short life is when you look at it this way.
And that’s if we’re lucky enough to live that long. A friend of mine passed away a couple of years ago which really bought into focus that we don’t know how much time we have.
5. Journal this question every morning
“If today were my last full day, what would I do differently?”
Even small tweaks add up.
The bottom line
Memento mori isn’t about dying.
It’s about living on purpose.
It’s about using your time like it actually matters—because it does.
Not someday. Not when things are less busy.
Now.
Emily xxx
My latest video
This video will help you make the most of your time when you’re engaging with a task. So you can focus and get it done faster.
