Things That Die: An Interview with Natalie Miles, Bridget Hilton and Joe Huff

What’s the best place to start when you are about to embark on the path to the most rich and rewarding life possible? The very end.  

When we are born, we are all diagnosed with the same condition: death. It's inevitable. You are going to die. Yes, I mean you.

I know what you’re thinking: Yeah, I know.  

But do you really know?

Most people bury this knowledge in the back of their brains and heap on distraction upon distraction—anything to avoid seriously reflecting on the fact that our time here is limited. We hide it away in hospitals and retirement homes. We pay lip service with bumper-sticker phrases like “life is short” or “you only live once,” but mostly we just suppress thoughts of our own mortality.

Bringing up this topic is considered bad form. Society operates under a silent agreement to keep any mention of our mortality off-limits. And when it happens—a friend gets in a car accident, a relative passes from a heart attack—you still might think, That's not going to happen to me.

Well, unfortunately, life is not a dress rehearsal, and death is too important to ignore. To embrace and understand what it means to really live, we need to make sure our relationship with and understanding of death is honest and realistic. 

Fear of death is natural and even healthy. After all, that fear helps keep you out of harm’s way. What’s problematic is the fear of contemplating death. Paradoxically, if you never think or talk about death, you could end up wasting your life. You could lull yourself into believing you can wait to start living your actual life at some indefinite point in the future… that may never come.

When the end of your life arrives, will you look back at an incredible life story, knowing you lived your one existence to the fullest? Or will you be full of pain and regret because you never made time for the things that mattered to you? If you never face your mortality, you can bet on the latter.

Thinking about your own demise may seem morbid, but in reality, it’s the secret to transforming your life. The harshness of death brings a beautiful clarity to life as it should be lived. That's why so many people who have near-death experiences are the ones who change their lives. They wake up with a new sense of urgency. They take that trip. They propose to that girl they love. They run that marathon. They get up early to watch magical sunrises. 

We all need to have this urgency—without the actual near-death experience.

That's why I loved doing this episode with Natalie Miles on Things That Die, one of my favorite on our book tour.

Episode Description