Why is “Momento Mori” or “Remember Death” so important for Living Better?

A few years back, a good friend and the author of Compassionate Capitalism, Blaine Bartlett gave me a beautiful coin inscripted with the Latin phrase, “Momento Mori.” This gift from Blaine was a gentle reminder to respect our time on this planet, remembering that our death could happen at any moment.

At the time, I was going through stressful work issues that seemed daunting. After spending a few short moments reflecting on the reality of the message that we have one life and it will end at some point, those daunting work problems seemed, well…less daunting. Trivial, even, to allow gossip, emotion, and misinformation to disrupt so much of my focus.

What if you knew you only had three years left to live? How would you spend that remaining time on earth?

The coin and its meaning propelled me to a mindset shift to focus on what is really important: family, health, and finding purpose in my short life. And this is not to say that I did not thoughtfully address those work problems. In fact, those issues at work were resolved quickly and with efficiency, in large part because of this reflection.

We tend to get caught up in minutiae, everyday, that creates unneeded stress that is wasteful and even harmful.

Embarassingly, I used to enjoy going on social media and digital websites to read all of the negative and vitriolic comments by people hating on other people. It felt good. I thought it was a silly way to de-stress and make myself feel better. In reality, it was harmful, shameful, and a waste of precious time. Instead those hours could have been shifted into doing those things to help me and others find purpose in this short life.

International best-selling author and Stoic Philosopher, Ryan Holiday, espouses the importance of “respecting time.” Respect your time. Respect the time of others. Put down the phone and be present. Do the things that will make an impact on living longer and fuller. Making this a practice and routine will eventually lead to healthy behaviors and more productive time for what’s really important.

Momento Mori