One of the most popular thought experiments is to imagine if you were told that you had one month or only a few weeks to live. What would you do? How would you spend your time?
It’s likely that you would do a lot of things. There would be some lifelong dreams fulfilled, bucket list items ticked off and no doubt lots of quality time spent with friends and family.
But what about 2 days to live? This is a much different thought experiment to the more conventional timeline. It is also potentially much more practical and life-changing.
After all, being told that you have one month or only a few weeks to live is somewhat similar to being asked “what would you do if you won the lottery?” In both instances, we would likely spend a lot of money, do incredible things and fit as many new experiences in as we could.
It’s good to think about, but the things that we would do if we had a month to live almost certainly aren’t the things that we are doing now. It is unreasonable to conduct the thought experiment, blow a load of money on a holiday, and then come back broke when the thought experiment is over. In other words, this kind of timeline doesn’t really change how we go about our daily living.
The purpose of thought experiments is to get us to picture a scenario that directly impacts our daily living for the better. We pretend the scenario is real, we think it through, and it helps us to reassess what we do in daily life when the experiment is done with.
You only have two days to live. There may still be some actions to take, like seeing closest friends or family, but most of the focus shifts from doing to being. From action to contemplation. Nothing imperative to do, only the sense of being alive to enjoy.
You only have 48 hours left, what future is there to plan? Life goals to achieve? Places to do and things to see? In this experiment, the future almost totally disappears. The facade of an imagined future collapses completely.
What you are left with is what you interact with on a daily basis. Your closest loved ones, your morning cup of coffee, your current book, the satisfaction of moving the body, the quiet but alive space between activities.
If you only had 48 hours to live, would you be stressed about the downpour outside ruining your plans? Or would you just listen intently and enjoy the sound of raindrops against your window?
If you only had 48 hours to live, would you be scrolling on social media whilst drinking your morning brew, so distracted that you can’t even remember drinking it when you gaze into your empty cup? Or would you enjoy every single drop, as if tasting it for the very first time in your life?
Unlike other similar thought experiments, 2 days to live brings an immediacy to your experience, and can massively influence how you currently spend daily living.
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