The date that’s automatically entered is when I would like to die (November 17th, 2067). That will be my 85th birthday, and if I’m not dead already by then, I’ll make it happen.
Every single person and organism that has ever lived in the history of Earth….has so far died. Therefore this “dying” concept is something that warrants some conversation, and maybe even a more humane way of doing it.
When Will I Die?
Average Age of Death (actuarial data):
Benefits of knowing when you’ll die:
It gives you an “end date” to either fear or look forward to.
Whichever way you look at this date, it at least gives you an “end date” so you can better plan out your living days.
It allows you to plan out the different phases of your life better:
Being realistic about dying but at least recognizing that your life will likely follow the normal distribution of a human life span.
You can can wrap everything up nice and tidy.
Saying goodbye to family and friends can be done in a nice way.
By controlling the date of your death you can correctly forecast how much money you will need to live out your life. If you don’t know the date, you could live for 1 year or 30 years more. Those two different options require vastly different sums of money and planning.
I equate the mental construct of “knowing my expiration date” to cramming for a test:
If you have a geography test in 6 months, you will probably not care too much at this moment and goof off. However if you had that same test in three hours, you will probably buckle down and study like crazy! For me personally, knowing the expiration date helps me do more things while I’m alive.
For some people it can “relieve the pressure” of thinking life goes on forever.
If someone’s life sucks, then knowing that there’s an end in sight could help some people.
Helps to understand what’s important by knowing it will end.
Seeing family often, bumming around with friends, playing with puppies and kids…these are all important things compared to other stuff.
How to do it:
I can’t recklessly kill myself at 85 though, there will be a small set of rules around it:
- Can’t cause extra work or inconvenience for living people (no crashing a car at 120mph off a cliff…some team of people would have to spend money & time cleaning that up).
- Can’t hurt anyone else in the process.
- Can’t do it in a way that bums people out.
- Must completely wrap up all family and financial affairs.
The coolest way I can think to do this (and adhere to all rules) is:
Skydive into an active volcano:
I was born Zoroastrian (a really small religion), and a neat thing about the ways Zoroastrians in India handle dead bodies is they leave the body out for vultures to eat.
The theory behind this is your body goes back into the Earth. I always thought this was a neat solution.
By skydiving into an active volcano I would:
🌋 Go back into the Earth.
🌋 Wouldn’t hurt anyone.
🌋 No remains.
🌋 Would get to SKYDIVE INTO AN ACTIVE VOLCANO which is not something you get to do whilst living!
Where this idea came from:
1.) I read a lot of books in middle school and high school that discussed this subject, especially sci-fi books, and it made perfect sense that people should plan for their death. It almost sounds silly NOT to.
2.) In high school I read 3 different books about the male mid-life crisis and why it happens. It seems that by planning out life with proper time expectations could solve a lot of the problems correlated to having a mid-life crisis.
3.) On trips to India I’d see people being kept alive that in all honesty should just be put down. If someone’s life is full of misery and pain with no end in sight (in fact it’ll probably just get worse), why not put them down comfortably and in a humane way? We put down our beloved dogs like that because we want them to be comfortable, why not us?
4.) In high school I had to volunteer in an Alzheimer’s ward every other day for 12 weeks. It truly showed me how humans are mechanical machines that like all other machines tend to break down, require more and more maintenance, and at some point, need to be decommissioned.
I was heartless enough NOT to be affected by the patients with Alzheimer’s. I could handle that. What I DID feel was when the families of those patients would come to visit the Alzheimer’s ward, and the patient wouldn’t even recognize their own daughter or son or grandkids. Watching those people break down in tears from their loved ones not even recognizing them…that was brutal.
Common retorts to this argument:
Whenever this topic is brought up, I inevitably get these same 3 questions every single time. Here’s the answers:
“What if medicine advances and at 85 years old it’s like you’re 20?”
In that case I would modify the decision based on those new life circumstances. The equation I’d use is simple:
If life is sucky = Get ready for the volcano jump!
If life is great = Maybe keep on going.
“Don’t you want to live forever?”
Meh. Not really. I’d like to enjoy my time on stage, and then exit when the time feels right. It’s like a vacation that lasts forever…at some point it no longer feels like a vacation.
“How do you KNOW you won’t chicken out and not do it????”
This is an action I intend to take ~50 years into the future, there’s no way to know for SURE this will still be my decision at the time.
The iPhone came out 10 years ago, and has since caused a massive shift in the way the entire world works….and no one predicted it. Clearly it’ll be tough to predict what the world will be like in 50 years. However at the moment, with the current state of technology, I’m leaving at 85!
This concept of leaving at 85 is more of a “mental construct” rather than a plan.
Male Life Expectancy Chart:
Death Probability: Probability of dying within one year.
Number of Lives: Number of survivors out of 100 born still alive.
Life Expectancy: Average number of years left.
Source: SSA.gov life expectancy actuarial data
| Exact age | Death probability | Number of lives | Life expectancy | Approx Death Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.64% | 100.00% | 76.04 | 76.04 |
| 1 | 0.04% | 99.36% | 75.52 | 76.52 |
| 2 | 0.03% | 99.32% | 74.55 | 76.55 |
| 3 | 0.02% | 99.29% | 73.58 | 76.58 |
| 4 | 0.02% | 99.27% | 72.59 | 76.59 |
| 5 | 0.02% | 99.25% | 71.6 | 76.6 |
| 6 | 0.01% | 99.24% | 70.62 | 76.62 |
| 7 | 0.01% | 99.22% | 69.63 | 76.63 |
| 8 | 0.01% | 99.21% | 68.64 | 76.64 |
| 9 | 0.01% | 99.20% | 67.64 | 76.64 |
| 10 | 0.01% | 99.19% | 66.65 | 76.65 |
| 11 | 0.01% | 99.18% | 65.66 | 76.66 |
| 12 | 0.01% | 99.17% | 64.66 | 76.66 |
| 13 | 0.02% | 99.16% | 63.67 | 76.67 |
| 14 | 0.03% | 99.14% | 62.68 | 76.68 |
| 15 | 0.04% | 99.10% | 61.7 | 76.7 |
| 16 | 0.06% | 99.06% | 60.73 | 76.73 |
| 17 | 0.07% | 99.00% | 59.76 | 76.76 |
| 18 | 0.09% | 98.93% | 58.81 | 76.81 |
| 19 | 0.10% | 98.85% | 57.86 | 76.86 |
| 20 | 0.12% | 98.75% | 56.91 | 76.91 |
| 21 | 0.13% | 98.64% | 55.98 | 76.98 |
| 22 | 0.15% | 68.50% | 55.05 | 77.05 |
| 23 | 0.15% | 98.36% | 54.13 | 77.13 |
| 24 | 0.16% | 98.21% | 53.22 | 77.22 |
| 25 | 0.16% | 98.06% | 52.3 | 77.3 |
| 26 | 0.16% | 97.90% | 51.38 | 77.38 |
| 27 | 0.17% | 97.74% | 50.47 | 77.47 |
| 28 | 0.17% | 97.58% | 49.55 | 77.55 |
| 29 | 0.18% | 97.41% | 48.63 | 77.63 |
| 30 | 0.18% | 97.24% | 47.72 | 77.72 |
| 31 | 0.18% | 97.06% | 46.8 | 77.8 |
| 32 | 0.19% | 96.89% | 45.89 | 77.89 |
| 33 | 0.19% | 96.70% | 44.97 | 77.97 |
| 34 | 0.20% | 96.52% | 44.06 | 78.06 |
| 35 | 0.21% | 96.33% | 43.15 | 78.15 |
| 36 | 0.21% | 96.13% | 42.23 | 78.23 |
| 37 | 0.22% | 95.92% | 41.32 | 78.32 |
| 38 | 0.23% | 95.71% | 40.41 | 78.41 |
| 39 | 0.23% | 95.50% | 39.5 | 78.5 |
| 40 | 0.24% | 95.27% | 38.59 | 78.59 |
| 41 | 0.25% | 95.04% | 37.69 | 78.69 |
| 42 | 0.27% | 94.80% | 36.78 | 78.78 |
| 43 | 0.28% | 94.55% | 35.88 | 78.88 |
| 44 | 0.30% | 94.28% | 34.98 | 78.98 |
| 45 | 0.32% | 94.00% | 34.08 | 79.08 |
| 46 | 0.35% | 93.69% | 33.19 | 79.19 |
| 47 | 0.38% | 93.37% | 32.3 | 79.3 |
| 48 | 0.41% | 93.02% | 31.43 | 79.43 |
| 49 | 0.46% | 92.63% | 30.55 | 79.55 |
| 50 | 0.50% | 92.21% | 29.69 | 79.69 |
| 51 | 0.55% | 91.75% | 28.84 | 79.84 |
| 52 | 0.60% | 91.24% | 27.99 | 79.99 |
| 53 | 0.66% | 90.69% | 27.16 | 80.16 |
| 54 | 0.72% | 90.10% | 26.34 | 80.34 |
| 55 | 0.78% | 89.45% | 25.52 | 80.52 |
| 56 | 0.85% | 88.75% | 24.72 | 80.72 |
| 57 | 0.92% | 88.00% | 23.93 | 80.93 |
| 58 | 0.99% | 87.19% | 23.15 | 81.15 |
| 59 | 1.07% | 86.33% | 22.37 | 81.37 |
| 60 | 1.15% | 85.41% | 21.61 | 81.61 |
| 61 | 1.24% | 84.42% | 20.85 | 81.85 |
| 62 | 1.33% | 83.37% | 20.11 | 82.11 |
| 63 | 1.41% | 82.26% | 19.37 | 82.37 |
| 64 | 1.49% | 81.10% | 18.65 | 82.65 |
| 65 | 1.58% | 79.89% | 17.92 | 82.92 |
| 66 | 1.69% | 78.63% | 17.2 | 83.2 |
| 67 | 1.81% | 77.30% | 16.49 | 83.49 |
| 68 | 1.95% | 75.90% | 15.78 | 83.78 |
| 69 | 2.12% | 74.42% | 15.09 | 84.09 |
| 70 | 2.31% | 72.84% | 14.4 | 84.4 |
| 71 | 2.53% | 71.16% | 13.73 | 84.73 |
| 72 | 2.76% | 69.36% | 13.07 | 85.07 |
| 73 | 3.01% | 67.45% | 12.43 | 85.43 |
| 74 | 3.28% | 64.42% | 11.8 | 85.8 |
| 75 | 3.60% | 63.27% | 11.18 | 86.18 |
| 76 | 3.96% | 61.00% | 10.58 | 86.58 |
| 77 | 4.35% | 58.58% | 10 | 87 |
| 78 | 4.77% | 56.03% | 9.43 | 87.43 |
| 79 | 5.24% | 53.36% | 8.88 | 87.88 |
| 80 | 5.77% | 50.57% | 8.34 | 88.34 |
| 81 | 6.39% | 47.65% | 7.82 | 88.82 |
| 82 | 7.08% | 44.60% | 7.32 | 89.32 |
| 83 | 7.84% | 41.45% | 6.84 | 89.84 |
| 84 | 8.70% | 38.20% | 6.38 | 90.38 |
| 85 | 9.66% | 34.87% | 5.94 | 90.94 |
| 86 | 10.74% | 31.50% | 5.52 | 91.52 |
| 87 | 11.95% | 28.12% | 5.12 | 92.12 |
| 88 | 13.29% | 24.76% | 4.75 | 92.75 |
| 89 | 14.76% | 21.47% | 4.4 | 93.4 |
| 90 | 16.37% | 18.30% | 4.08 | 94.08 |
| 91 | 18.11% | 15.31% | 3.78 | 94.78 |
| 92 | 19.98% | 12.54% | 3.5 | 95.5 |
| 93 | 21.98% | 10.03% | 3.25 | 96.25 |
| 94 | 24.09% | 7.83% | 3.03 | 97.03 |
| 95 | 26.19% | 5.94% | 2.83 | 97.83 |
| 96 | 28.22% | 4.39% | 2.66 | 98.66 |
| 97 | 30.16% | 3.15% | 2.51 | 99.51 |
| 98 | 31.94% | 2.20% | 2.37 | 100.37 |
| 99 | 33.54% | 1.5% | 2.25 | 101.25 |
| 100 | 35.22% | 0.99% | 2.13 | 102.13 |
| 101 | 36.98% | 0.64% | 2.02 | 103.02 |
| 102 | 38.83% | 0.41% | 1.91 | 103.91 |
| 103 | 40.77% | 0.25% | 1.81 | 104.81 |
| 104 | 42.61% | 0.15% | 1.71 | 105.71 |
| 105 | 44.95% | 0.08% | 1.61 | 106.61 |
| 106 | 47.19% | 0.05% | 1.52 | 107.52 |
| 107 | 49.55% | 0.02% | 1.43 | 108.43 |
| 108 | 52.03% | 0.01% | 1.35 | 109.35 |
| 109 | 54.63% | 0.01% | 1.27 | 110.27 |
| 110 | 57.36% | 0% | 1.19 | 111.19 |
| 111 | 60.23% | 0% | 1.11 | 112.11 |
| 112 | 63.24% | 0% | 1.04 | 113.04 |
| 113 | 66.41% | 0% | 0.97 | 113.97 |
| 114 | 69.73% | 0% | 0.91 | 114.91 |
| 115 | 73.21% | 0% | 0.84 | 115.84 |
| 116 | 76.87% | 0% | 0.78 | 116.78 |
| 117 | 80.72% | 0% | 0.73 | 117.73 |
| 118 | 84.75% | 0% | 0.67 | 118.67 |
| 119 | 88.99% | 0% | 0.62 | 119.62 |
Female Life Expectancy Chart:
Death Probability: Probability of dying within one year.
Number of Lives: Number of survivors out of 100 born still alive.
Life Expectancy: Average number of years left.
Source: SSA.gov life expectancy actuarial data
| Exact age | Death probability | Number of lives | Life expectancy | Approx Death Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.53% | 100.00% | 80.99 | 80.99 |
| 1 | 0.04% | 99.47% | 80.43 | 81.43 |
| 2 | 0.02% | 99.43% | 79.46 | 81.46 |
| 3 | 0.02% | 99.41% | 78.48 | 81.48 |
| 4 | 0.02% | 99.39% | 77.49 | 81.49 |
| 5 | 0.01% | 99.38% | 76.5 | 81.5 |
| 6 | 0.01% | 99.36% | 75.51 | 81.51 |
| 7 | 0.01% | 99.35% | 74.52 | 81.52 |
| 8 | 0.01% | 99.34% | 73.53 | 81.53 |
| 9 | 0.01% | 99.33% | 72.54 | 81.54 |
| 10 | 0.01% | 99.32% | 71.54 | 81.54 |
| 11 | 0.01% | 99.31% | 70.55 | 81.55 |
| 12 | 0.01% | 99.30% | 69.56 | 81.56 |
| 13 | 0.01% | 99.29% | 68.56 | 81.56 |
| 14 | 0.02% | 99.28% | 67.57 | 81.57 |
| 15 | 0.02% | 99.26% | 66.58 | 81.58 |
| 16 | 0.03% | 99.24% | 65.6 | 81.6 |
| 17 | 0.03% | 99.21% | 64.62 | 81.62 |
| 18 | 0.03% | 99.18% | 63.63 | 81.63 |
| 19 | 0.04% | 99.15% | 62.66 | 81.66 |
| 20 | 0.04% | 99.11% | 61.68 | 81.68 |
| 21 | 0.05% | 99.07% | 60.71 | 81.71 |
| 22 | 0.05% | 99.02% | 59.73 | 81.73 |
| 23 | 0.05% | 98.97% | 58.76 | 81.76 |
| 24 | 0.06% | 98.92% | 57.8 | 81.8 |
| 25 | 0.06% | 98.86% | 56.83 | 81.83 |
| 26 | 0.06% | 98.80% | 55.86 | 81.86 |
| 27 | 0.07% | 98.74% | 54.9 | 81.9 |
| 28 | 0.07% | 98.67% | 53.93 | 81.93 |
| 29 | 0.08% | 98.61% | 52.97 | 81.97 |
| 30 | 0.08% | 98.53% | 52.01 | 82.01 |
| 31 | 0.09% | 98.45% | 51.05 | 82.05 |
| 32 | 0.09% | 98.37% | 50.09 | 82.09 |
| 33 | 0.10% | 98.28% | 49.14 | 82.14 |
| 34 | 0.10% | 98.18% | 48.19 | 82.19 |
| 35 | 0.11% | 98.09% | 47.23 | 82.23 |
| 36 | 0.11% | 97.98% | 46.28 | 82.28 |
| 37 | 0.12% | 97.87% | 45.34 | 82.34 |
| 38 | 0.13% | 97.75% | 44.39 | 82.39 |
| 39 | 0.13% | 97.63% | 43.45 | 82.45 |
| 40 | 0.14% | 97.50% | 42.5 | 82.5 |
| 41 | 0.15% | 97.36% | 41.56 | 82.56 |
| 42 | 0.16% | 97.22% | 40.62 | 82.62 |
| 43 | 0.17% | 97.06% | 39.69 | 82.69 |
| 44 | 0.19% | 96.89% | 38.76 | 82.76 |
| 45 | 0.20% | 96.71% | 37.83 | 82.83 |
| 46 | 0.22% | 96.52% | 36.9 | 82.9 |
| 47 | 0.24% | 96.30% | 35.98 | 82.98 |
| 48 | 0.27% | 96.07% | 35.07 | 83.07 |
| 49 | 0.29% | 95.82% | 34.16 | 83.16 |
| 50 | 0.32% | 95.54% | 33.26 | 83.26 |
| 51 | 0.35% | 95.23% | 32.36 | 83.36 |
| 52 | 0.38% | 94.90% | 31.48 | 83.48 |
| 53 | 0.41% | 94.54% | 30.59 | 83.59 |
| 54 | 0.45% | 94.15% | 29.72 | 83.72 |
| 55 | 0.48% | 93.73% | 28.85 | 83.85 |
| 56 | 0.52% | 93.28% | 27.99 | 83.99 |
| 57 | 0.56% | 92.79% | 27.13 | 84.13 |
| 58 | 0.60% | 92.27% | 26.28 | 84.28 |
| 59 | 0.64% | 91.71% | 25.44 | 84.44 |
| 60 | 0.68% | 91.13% | 24.6 | 84.6 |
| 61 | 0.74% | 90.50% | 23.76 | 84.76 |
| 62 | 0.79% | 89.84% | 22.94 | 84.94 |
| 63 | 0.85% | 89.13% | 22.12 | 85.12 |
| 64 | 0.91% | 88.38% | 21.3 | 85.3 |
| 65 | 0.98% | 87.57% | 20.49 | 85.49 |
| 66 | 1.06% | 86.72% | 19.69 | 85.69 |
| 67 | 1.15% | 85.80% | 18.89 | 85.89 |
| 68 | 1.26% | 84.81% | 18.11 | 86.11 |
| 69 | 1.39% | 83.74% | 17.33 | 86.33 |
| 70 | 1.54% | 82.57% | 16.57 | 86.57 |
| 71 | 1.74% | 81.30% | 15.82 | 86.82 |
| 72 | 1.89% | 79.91% | 15.09 | 87.09 |
| 73 | 2.07% | 78.40% | 14.37 | 87.37 |
| 74 | 2.27% | 76.78% | 13.66 | 87.66 |
| 75 | 2.50% | 75.04% | 12.97 | 87.97 |
| 76 | 2.78% | 73.16% | 12.29 | 88.29 |
| 77 | 3.08% | 71.13% | 11.62 | 88.62 |
| 78 | 3.42% | 68.94% | 10.98 | 88.98 |
| 79 | 3.81% | 66.58% | 10.35 | 89.35 |
| 80 | 4.25% | 64.04% | 9.74 | 89.74 |
| 81 | 4.77% | 61.32% | 9.15 | 90.15 |
| 82 | 5.33% | 58.40% | 8.58 | 90.58 |
| 83 | 5.94% | 55.28% | 8.04 | 91.04 |
| 84 | 6.61% | 52.00% | 7.51 | 91.51 |
| 85 | 7.38% | 48.56% | 7.01 | 92.01 |
| 86 | 8.25% | 44.98% | 6.53 | 92.53 |
| 87 | 9.24% | 41.27% | 6.07 | 93.07 |
| 88 | 10.35% | 37.46% | 5.64 | 93.64 |
| 89 | 11.60% | 33.58% | 5.23 | 94.23 |
| 90 | 12.97% | 29.69% | 4.85 | 94.85 |
| 91 | 14.46% | 25.84% | 4.5 | 95.5 |
| 92 | 16.07% | 22.10% | 4.18 | 96.18 |
| 93 | 17.80% | 18.55% | 3.88 | 96.88 |
| 94 | 19.63% | 15.25% | 3.61 | 97.61 |
| 95 | 21.48% | 12.25% | 3.37 | 98.37 |
| 96 | 23.32% | 9.62% | 3.16 | 99.16 |
| 97 | 25.12% | 7.38% | 2.96 | 99.96 |
| 98 | 26.84% | 5.53% | 2.79 | 100.79 |
| 99 | 28.45% | 4.04% | 2.63 | 101.63 |
| 100 | 30.16% | 2.89% | 2.48 | 102.48 |
| 101 | 31.96% | 2.02% | 2.33 | 103.33 |
| 102 | 33.88% | 1.37% | 2.19 | 104.19 |
| 103 | 35.92% | 0.91% | 2.06 | 105.06 |
| 104 | 38.07% | 0.58% | 1.93 | 105.93 |
| 105 | 40.35% | 0.36% | 1.81 | 106.81 |
| 106 | 42.78% | 0.22% | 1.69 | 107.69 |
| 107 | 45.34% | 0.12% | 1.58 | 108.58 |
| 108 | 48.06% | 0.07% | 1.47 | 109.47 |
| 109 | 50.95% | 0.04% | 1.37 | 110.37 |
| 110 | 54% | 0.02% | 1.27 | 111.27 |
| 111 | 57.24% | 0.01% | 1.18 | 112.18 |
| 112 | 60.68% | 0% | 1.09 | 113.09 |
| 113 | 64.32% | 0% | 1.01 | 114.01 |
| 114 | 68.18% | 0% | 0.93 | 114.93 |
| 115 | 72.27% | 0% | 0.86 | 115.86 |
| 116 | 76.6% | 0% | 0.79 | 116.79 |
| 117 | 80.72% | 0% | 0.73 | 117.73 |
| 118 | 84.75% | 0% | 0.67 | 118.67 |
| 119 | 88.99% | 0% | 0.62 | 119.62 |
Sincerely,
Neville Medhora (1982 – 2067)
Even though im 14 i would want to go out when i see m great grand children or even stay longer idk i think that it all depends on what the man wants an i know what you guys may think your talking about god right well actually…No im not i dont think god is some guy in the skies controlling every thing i think he is a energy a energy so strong that he created us and he intends for some of use to do good and to do bad things we all have purpose to balance out the world so i dont think that it matters how i go out or how any of you guys go out if you want to jump into a active volcano then so be it jump into one if you want to die in your sleep then go right a head but the honest truth is, is that none of us can really say or know when well go out.
I am just 24… I have almost 50 left! And I don’t know what to do of those 50 years :/
Hey Jeremy, since you have so much time, you can do A LOT of things and figure out what you LIKE TO DO, and what you DON’T LIKE TO DO.
Doing a bunch of stuff right now before you’re 30 will help you find what you’re good at, and therefore what you can enjoy doing.
Yeah, dude let’s skydive into an active volcano!
Damn, why am I saying that?
Just make me a super amazing copywriter like you to start with!
i want to die by drowning, because the water forces you down and you’ll be gasping for air, but you wont get air your lungs will fill up like a water bottle then you’ll die.
hope u like my wish for u :)
I think the best way to go would be sleeping. I know, I know I’m little young to already be thinking abought this be cause I’m only 12, but I think that It would SUCK to have a funeral… like all they do is make people sad, sooo why does funeral start with FUN!?! (FUNeral) So what I think is I would reather have A PARTY OF LIFE not a “fun”eral. Because it sounds better all together, because then family will be happy I had A chace to live then be sad I died. And if you have ever heard the song “If I Die Young” Then I think it souds prity good especially if there is cake at the party… but then again I will sadly not get to enjoy the cake too ;-). I think that would be a good way to celebrate life. Also you need to listen to the song to understand me its a sad but good song.
Enjoyed reading your page,
Totaly “real” name, Shmoop (and not shampoo they sound and look totally different and shmoop sounds just how it’s spelled, somehow people get them mixed up)
get the heck out.
I want to live 70 more years
2101 age 148
By the time I die they will have found ways fore to stay alive until 2100 at least
Great article! Thanks. Very thought provoking. My father and his father passed at 75. I may probably go at the same age. I am now 58. That gives me 17 years. I am still full of plans and dreams as I had when I was 17. We all have our fears, hopes and desires about how and when we want to exit. Unfortunately I don’t think we have a great deal of control over that. Life is too precious to end it by our own hand, even if we have to suffer or make our loved ones suffer for our sake. All that is what makes life complete and invaluable. So, sorry, Neville, I don’t think you should dive into an active volcano. I think you live out all your God given years to the fullest, and go when He tells you when your expiry date has come. You are a great guy at such a young age. You should enrich more lives…God bless you.
If you are healthy and happy on your 85th birthday, I would bet my entire life savings that you will change your mind.
Hey Lori, it’s very possible, I actually addressed this twice inside the post:
In that case I would modify the decision based on those new life circumstances. The equation I’d use is simple:
If life is sucky = Get ready for the volcano jump!
If life is great = Maybe keep on going.
“How do you KNOW you won’t chicken out and not do it????”
This is an action I intend to take ~50 years into the future, there’s no way to know for SURE this will still be my decision at the time.
The iPhone came out 10 years ago, and has since caused a massive shift in the way the entire world works….and no one predicted it. Clearly it’ll be tough to predict what the world will be like in 50 years. However at the moment, with the current state of technology, I’m leaving at 85!
This concept of leaving at 85 is more of a “mental construct” rather than a plan.
I’m 33. Lived 27 horrible years and have wasted 6 more years with PTSD. Hoping to expire this year.
Hey, Phoebe
In periods of my 72 years I felt the same way you do now. I did a few very foolush things with the attitude that if they killed me, so what? But they didn’t kill me and i’m still afraid that if I consciously try to kill myself, I’ll botch the job and have consequences I never want to deal with. So I just stuck it out and waited for the next thing life threw at me. You know what? Things got better for awhile.
There was one question nobody ever took seriously. “Why are we here?” Are we just God’s ant farm? Still don’t have the answer but if we are just an ammusement for some higher being, what does it mater? To us it’s all there is and that makes it pretty important. And if we are just an ant farm, at least our owner hasn’t decided he has a New hobby and pitched us like a lot of US did our fish tanks even we grew tired of them.
As for why I’ve stuck it out this long, looking back at the lousy times i see that a lot of good things came that wouldn’t have if it weren’t for those rotten experiences. I’ve formed a theory but it’s just a theory… I’m here to make people, including myself, happy. Whether i’m a comedian on life’s stage or just someone to give soneone something they need or something someone would appreciate, it makes me feel good. The recipient doesn’t even have to be human. It can be any creature, a dog, a cat, or even a worm on the sidewalk on a rainy day.
Anyway, dear Phoebe, I’m telling you what i wish someone told me at your age. Give it time. Eventually it WILL get better!
I am 62 years old and have been giving death a great deal of thought since I watched both of my parents age and eventually die. One thing I know for certain: I do NOT want to live in diapers! I also don’t want to burden anyone with taking care of me, and I don’t want any of my loved ones to watch me die from some debilitating disease. That all being said, I think skydiving into a live volcano makes perfect sense, for all of the reasons you outline. OR, I would very much like to get my hands on that “little black pill” when I’m 80 so I can die painlessly in my sleep, then be cremated.
P.S. Wasn’t Freddie Mercury Zoroastrian?
Barbara, i totally agree with you! All my relatives are gone and all i ask of life is that it ends quickly and before i get to a humiliating dependency on strangers. As for my body after i die, i’m an organ donpr and anyone who can use any part of my body is welclme to it. My eyes and probably my lungs are shot but other organs, blood vessles, skin, whatever – i hope it gets put to good use to help someone else live.
You need to read the Dan Sullivan book
https://resources.strategiccoach.com/quarterly-books/my-plan-for-living-to-156
I plan to live every day og this century – I’ll be 127 in the year 2100 :-)
Hi Neville, love the thought provoking you have accomplished. I did this and also counted out how many summers and winters i have left, and how many vacations and weekends as well, it truly is a game changer! I believe it wakes us all up to be selective with our experiences we have in this time left, before we go. I was in a training once and the coach handed out yard sticks, here in Switzerland it was 100cm long. She asked us to break off when we would like to die, in your cSe that would be 85, then we were to break off how old we are now, for you Neville now would be around 37. After both ends were broken off, we held in our hands our life, or whats left of it, that was a huge eye opener! Life is truly short and we should not waste one minute being!!! Keep the fire Burning Young Man! You Rock!!! cYaRock
Hi Neville,
What a great methodology to make our monkey minds reframe our day-to-day thought process! I had previously been planning life out in decade-long swaths (20s for finding jobs, getting married, start retirement savings; 30s for having kids;40s for serious career advancement; 50s for retirement…) but it always kind of trailed off after that. I really like this expiration date idea—I work better with deadlines, anyway. Thanks for the thought provoking article!
It instantly hit knowing that I wasted almost 20+ years of my life and the world still has got so many places where my feet marks aren’t present. Duh!
Now, going to start life! Thank you super duper Neville :)
I don’t want to die in an active volcano :(((((((.
Then don’t jump into one like me 🌋😎
Don’t listen to that stupid person!
I like this. It reminds me a bit of this TED Talk.
https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator?language=en#t-801122
I love your stuff, Neville. But this is a bit far out. Thought provokingly strange.
That’s fine, sometimes you gotta stretch the limit :)
I want to be immortal See all that tech, become rich by being the oldest alive and placing bets on whoever lives longer, and once the universe ends, find another universe, also be impenetrable. No pain. You may have to be there when all your family dies, but grief resides a bit after a bit. Wait am I too young? Im only 11… Hey, we have internet. Kids will find out being young. Thanks for reading!
Hi, I have started to think about dying more, after my kids are big and I started to age. I am 48 now. I do agree with your points. No point in living if your physical body is not coping or you are in pain or you are useless. I would like to go in 2030 or a few years before. Another 11 years.
Well it’s good you at least have some sort of framework for the rest of your life, and can now make it very high quality life!!
Manju, you say you’re 48 and want to pass in 2030 at the age of 59/60. IMO, that’s a bit young, unless you have a painful illness. I am presently 59 and don’t have any desire to die yet. Obviously, since I’m on this site, the idea has crossed my mind. I only assume it happens to most of us at a certain age, but I think it of my daughter (16).I want to see all of her accomplishments and achievements before I go. I want to be there for HER and help her as much as I can. I don’t necessarily want to go on for me, but I want to go on for HER.
Okay, I’m not going to lie this entire article threw me for a loop and still has me thrown. I need to reread this and maybe then it will make a little more sense.
Its an an interesting concept to say the least!
Maybe it has you thrown for a reason…sometimes when things hit a little hard, it might be something you’re sensitive about.
Glad you at least found it interesting Alexis!
Classic Neville…you’re the best! Live long and prosper my friend. ;) Thanks for the laughs and valuable teaching.
Bahahha, glad you liked this one Ben!
This is a great concept.
And I got a chuckle out of this:
“why not put them down comfortably and in a humane way”
–> Like putting them down in an f’in active volcano. ;-)
Bahahaha…..maybe tossing people into an active volcano isn’t everyone’s idea of a fun time, but that’s mine :-P
If you go out in a volcano, that would be the worst way to. A lot of volcanos don’t have an open-top where you have access to the lava and burning alive is one of the most painful ways to die. Think of the agony of your flesh burning and the fumes of your burning hair as you’re just waiting to die.
Hmmn… one of the brutally honest piece I’ve read in long while. Reminds me to work harder – so I don’t have to depart this world without leaving footprints and making impact.
Btw, how come I haven’t been getting your mails, been months I subscribed.
Thanks Khris! You’re in the system, but ranked at a 0 out of 5. It means you might’ve not opened a few emails in a row.
So generally I’ll avoid sending emails to people ranked zero just to stay out of spam range. I’ll bump your email up right now!
I’d like to go at 88, making me exactly halfway there, and I will go either in my sleep or having wild geriatric sex.
Big caveat – ONLY if I am a) mentally and physically healthy and b) not a burden to my family. My own mother is 80 and refuses to take any responsibility for her own health or happiness. I won’t be doing that to my children and have explicitly given them permission to euthanize me if I become a miserable, bitter old witch.
Jeez….that’s rough 😐
Well at least you are also doing this in an unselfish way, that’s good!
Thanks for a very smart and provocative article. Americans do have a weird phobia and irrational fear of the next plane of existence. I don’t, and fear is luxury that I do not miss and one that I cannot afford. I like being as healthy as I can so I may enjoy my life on earth. Life goes too fast, and I hope that I will always want more life. I don’t care to know my expiration date.
Bon santé,
mimi
Interesting perspective on it Chantique. I’d say about 60% the people I speak to have your same opinion. They’d rather not know the final date.
Totally fine also!
Hi Neville Medhora,
If you wandered how far your work goes I would love to share with you that I am writing from a small country in Europe called Bulgaria.
I am learning a lot and using a lot of your ideas and tricks, so thank you! And I really love how creative and bold you are.
You may now Google where Bulgaria is and be proud how far your reach goes! :)
This news letter was so provocing that I could not help myself, but writing a comment. This is something I was postponing for a while, but here it is… with the right concept you can make people do what you want them to do :D I trust you on that one.
Keep on being great and inspiration for the copywriters around the globe.
Best Regards,
Милена Николова
Milena Nikolova
Thank you for the kind words Milena! Glad you enjoyed this post. I know it’s slightly off topic for copywriting, but I think a good copywriter should be able to take a complex or morbid subject and make it easy to digest.
I thought this concept would be one of those weird topics that would take some “massaging” to get into people’s heads without bumming them out :)
I’ll see your 2067 and raise you 2070 just so I can say I made it to 2070. Sounds like a cool number. Maybe even on Feb 7, so it’s 2-07-2070
Bahahaha…..that does sound like a pretty cool day to go on an obituary 😂
Rozy, I agree: 2-07-2070 seems like a cool day to “expire”! However, I’m 58 years old now, so in 2070 I’ll be either 108 (Oct man here!) or 6 feet under. Most likely the latter, WAY before then!
Bahahah, well Bear, even 2020 or 2030 still has a super futuristic ring to it…so you’ll be good 😎
This year a lot of friends and relatives of mine passed away, so I’ve been thinking about this issue often now.
Thank you for this shocking email, it reminded me that all of us have a limited ammount of time on this earth and we should use every minute to do something meaningfull, to follow our dreams.
Awesome, glad it made you value that time more Alex :)
Best Headline Yet–“Neville Medhora 1982-2067”. Thank goodness–now he’ll stop bombarding me with very helpful, free emails.
Actually, my genuine first reaction was, “Oh no–and so young, too.”
Oh, wait–he’s not dead. That ^@#$% got me to open his email AGAIN.
Bahahaha…..nope I’m still alive :-)
I wrote that subject line really quick, and upon seeing it this morning I could definitely see how it gave some people a temporary shock!
“Every single person and organism that has ever lived in the history of Earth….has so far died.”
Actually……not totally true : https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-environment/animals-can-live-forever
There are quite a lot of theories that “death” is not a feature but a bug : because humans never really needed to go past 30 or so to pass on their genes, nature/evolution never really had any reason to keep us around after that, so that would be why we decay at that age until we then die.
I agree with all your article and making sure you don’t waste a second, but that’s because I’m afraid of a deadly or debilitating accident.
If there’s a chance I get to live to be 400 in a healthy body, travel 100 years through space using technologies we don’t know about yet, to a new earth like planet…that sounds worth staying around to me? And quite the vacation too :)
Would boredom eventually set in? Maybe. My guess is some people are bored at 20, some (like Jeanne Calmant) seem to be having a blast all the way through.
I wish I could ask the question to centenarians : given a healthy brain and body, would you sign up for another 100?
Hey Thomas, most people ask this question right away, “What if medical technology let’s you be more like 20 than 85!?”
In that case I’ll modify this. However that date is 49 years in the future, and it’s foolish to try and predict what will happen by then.
So I am basing my assumption on the CURRENT state of technology.
When do I want to die? When I saw your date 2067, I thought I will be 107 if I live that long. Then I thought why not make it to 110? Nice round number! Since my Great Great Grandmother was 103 when she passed and each generation there after, has decreased it’s life span by at least a decade, it scares me that I have very little time left. So if God can see fit to grant me that wish, I would love to see the year 2070! :)
2070 seems like a nice number (it sounds so futuristic)!
I’m going for at least 100.
Can we start calling you Zoro? :)
Bahahaha…..you can definitely call me Zoro from now on 😂
i am said to be dead on Sunday, 11st March 2074,
thats 20016 Days, 02 Hours, and 36 Minutes
It’s kind of cool to know how long you have left right?? :)
Karma NEVER dies…
I’ll pull you into the volcano with me 😂
Great Advise! I expect to die at 90 years. Doing a parachute jump with out parachute from the Stratosphere. Some time to think and say goodbye while planning all over the earth :D For now I got 52 Years to that day I will enjoy every moment.
Just don’t splat down somewhere people need to clean you up! Aim for the ocean, or you can jump into my volcano :-P
I’m 62 and have thought about death often. I don’t want to live past 85 either, and skydiving into a volcano sounds like the perfect plan. Both of my parents lived to be 92, and taking care of them the last five years of their lives was a true wake-up call. I don’t want to be that kind of burden to anyone. Plus, I don’t have children, I have no significant other, so who’s going to take care of me anyway? My nightmare is living to be old, alone, in some drab, dreary and depressing county facility because I have no money left. Dear God, please take me away before that happens! Or perhaps the volcano will be my exit strategy…THANK YOU for the suggestion!
Hi Barbara, that’s an unfortunate situation.
This is what shaped my thinking on this subject, seeing so many elderly people in this drab state of life towards the end of their life.
With a proper exit plan in place, I think many of those people would have a much better quality of life for their remainding years.
Thanks for this little reminder. I became a member of Dignitas a couple of years ago. This is a Swiss organization that’s been around for a while that “helps you along” when you’ve decided that you’re all over this life already. :-) I’m 63, but I’m married to a man that is 22 years my senior. We’ve been married for 40 years, so I’ve spent much of my adult life around people much older than myself. At 85, his friends and most of his family are already gone, he has a long list of diseases (Parkinson’s is one) and spends his days alone while I work just sort of mesmerized by the TV. Watching him, my mother at 83 (COPD, heart issues) I don’t EVER want to end up like this. These people are being kept alive by pharmaceuticals that if removed, they would pass fairly shortly after. It’s not life. I’m not even sure what to call it.
I never thought about dying in such an exhilarating way. A tremendous off the wall look at this choice. It made me go back and revisit my exit strategy!
Oh very interesting, I’ve never heard of that organization.
I completely agree that keeping someone in this perpetual state of loniliness and fear of dying is far more cruel than helping them pass on.
I’m already alive 16 years longer than I expected to die at age 33, and then I thought I would die by 39 so that’s another 10 years since I was wrong, again. My father is a heavy smoker his entire life, overweight and extremely unhealthy, and he’s outlived all of his parents and sibling by 15 years now and he was the most unhealthy of all of them; he’ll be 80 soon. I am the complete opposite of him, and live a very healthy lifestyle and mindset. The irony will be that I die younger than he is… life is funny. But I’m ready to go when it’s time.
Yeesh….what made you think you were going to die at 33 and then 39?
It’s crazy to think that we pass our death anniversary one day each year.
I think once my siblings start passing away (probably 70’s/80’s) I’ll be ready. Yes, I’ll have my own family by then, but my current family are the ones I’d miss the most. My future kids/grand kids will be fine without me as long as I part my knowledge with them and teach them humility, modesty and respect.
I used to say I wanted to die at 65, but my mom is 58 right now and if she were gone at 65 I wouldn’t know what to do. It’s too young.
Anywho, until then, I’ll be here living each moment like its my last.
Yes it’s an interesting concept to think about. Morbid to some people, but I believe it makes you LIVE more rather than complacently walk through life.
I did however have one friend say, “Once you have kids though, you’ll want to live forever.”
I want to leave this world with 95 years of well-being.
That’s a fair and plausible goal :)
Fantastic attention grabbing article. Really focused me to achieve and work harder for my goals. Time isn’t infinite.
Nope, human time is very finite whether we like it or not!
Since an energetic Jeanne Calment lived to be 122 and actually met Van Gogh when she was around 12 or 13 shows us humans can live a long time while enjoying life. Like to think as taking care of myself while enjoying life would live to 12o sounds mighty nice. Get to see new technology, perhaps even take a vacation to our Mars colony. That would then be the year 2081. See you, folks, there and we’ll grasp a coffee watching the Martian sunrise!
Yes there’s definitely outlier cases of people living very long and happy lives well past the norm, but I assume my time will be on the average end of the spectrum.
I think a Mars trip in the future could be cool. But I’d wait till at least V3 of the Martian colony….the first couple of iterations will probably be harsh and kinda suck!
Death is scary.
I like to believe that I will live on forever. But due to understanding of basic biology, I do know that the end exists. And thinking of that still freaks me out.
As of now, I would be happy to exit anytime after 100. Not going out before completing my century.
I will still be sad. But I don’t know any other alternative.
Hmmm, I wonder why you find it so scary. I think if you live a good life, towards the end you are no longer as afraid of death.
If you have lots of regrets and things left to do, then death probably would seem very scary.
I’ve thought about this. I have a health condition that, while I get to live a normal life for all intents and purposes, it will cause me to spontaneously die sooner than most. If I recall, with current statistics that death rate starts to ramp up with middle age, and I have a 50% chance of being dead at 50 and 80% chance of being dead at 60.
Knowing that I have a shortened life span isn’t all bad. It just compresses things, kind of makes you live faster I guess.
Oh very interesting perspective you have then. I’m assuming knowing death can occur sooner makes you appreciaste life more, and want to do bucket list things before that time. You probably also have a better sense of what’s really important :)
I have a countdown to 2038, which puts me at 63, the age my father died. If I make it past that, I’m in the bonus round!!
You can still have a pretty healthy and active life at 63 (and much beyond), so you should be good!
I’m hoping my sweet release form this bitter earth will arrive soon.
Cause of death: Swallowed whole by a snake.
It will be like a reverse birth and give my life great symmetry.
Bahahahha…..you might be the one creature on Earth who thinks getting swallowed whole by a snake is a success 😂
I cannot think of a more epic way to die (if I do, I’ll let you know).
When I’m going through normal, day-to-day life, I like to use a “death trick” that instantly makes me extremely grateful (for even the most mundane things).
I just imagine that I am going to die in 60 seconds. It instantly brings everything to life. Food tastes better. Scents get stronger. Things become more beautiful. And any grudges I have instantly melt away. :-)
Dang 60 Seconds? Never heard that trick!
Although I think I’d be tempted to put make a 100%-all-in roulette bet on Black 😂
Ah well, looks like you’ve made a good point here. The 6 months Vs 3 hours thing got me right where it hurts. Fair play, my friend. Considering writing up a life plan now.
Well it’s good that got to you….go make that plan! It doesn’t have to be super accurate, but at least spending SOME time trying to plan it out will shed some light on it :)