Why We Shouldn't Worry About Dying Young

We spend a lot of time worrying that we won't have enough time to lead a good life. But we would be far better off focusing on the quality of our lives rather than on their length.

FURTHER READING

“History is filled with stories of extraordinary figures who died tragically young: John Keats (26), Emily Bronte (30), Alexander the Great (33), Mozart (35), Sylvia Plath (30), Van Gogh (37). In The Death of Gericault, the brilliant Romantic artist – who a few years before had won international renown for his Raft of the Medusa – is shown stretched out on his bed in his Parisian studio in the rue des Martyrs, having just succumbed to a typhoid infection developed after a riding accident: he was 33 years old…”

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CREDITS

Produced in collaboration with:

Alexandra Sasha Balan

Title animation produced in collaboration with

Vale Productions

[ChrisC]

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live..

-Norman cousins

[mariev]

As a young person going through cancer. It was nice to hear.

[MF-]

“ it’s Better to have a short life that is full what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way.” -Alan Watts

[meadowrae]

"The challenge of our life is to live deeply, rather than extensively." Thank you for this gorgeous reminder, Alain.

[jeffreyphillips]

I don't worry about dying young because I'm nearly 72 years old 😁

[QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“Death is only the end if you assume the story is about you.”
― Jeffrey Cranor

[ORALZZZ]

I'm 27 with cancer and this video has genuinely helped me, thank you.

[alba]

the guy tried to make me feel better about a mild inconvenience ("Life is too short") by talking about by biggest fear ("I might waste all of my time anyways").

[aldrinricio]

I lost my girlfriend in a motorcycle accident last June and this video is so comforting to see. She was able to beat cancer and brain infection as well as depression and anxiety before she passed. She was 27. She served as a Catholic school teacher for 5 years and she is remembered as a loving and thoughtful mother figure to her students and an effective educator of our school community. I am so proud of her. Aira, I love you so much, darling. I will be looking for you on the other side.

[PeculiarHopes]

I'm more concerned about living past a certain age. I'm afraid of wasting away at the end w/o health, family, and friends.

[doelala]

"Not everyone who is living is equally alive" wow

[annsmahboob]

Muhammad Ali said it best: Dont count the days, make the days count.

[fen]

Sometimes when I feel the shadow of death looming in my thoughts, I remind myself that it didn't hurt before I was born. It wasn't hell to not be. I don't know where I first heard that idea, but I find it very soothing.

[dailydoseofmedicinee]

Thanatophobia is a form of anxiety characterized by a fear of one’s own death or the process of dying. It is commonly referred to as death anxiety.

[gusarosa]

I had a friend who recently died of cardiavoscular problems at the age of 17. We were very sad while thinking about this tragedy, and no one has ever known that he had this problem, not even himself. The thing is that when we are remembering the good times we had, they come strongly in our minds and with a certain feeling of rewardness for being part of these moments, it seems that we knew him for much longer

[CyberDocUSA]

Showing this to a friend who just got exonerated after 18 years in prison for a crime who didn't commit.

[tonatiuhnino]

I was just reading on Quora on how hopeless and depressed your generation is today. We live in a world full of expectations of ourselves and if we fail to meet those expectations, we are failures. We come to realize that the American Dream is not real and we expect to have a job and family and instead of that, we spend most of our time in our rooms. We live in a world where Tik tokers make more money than doctors and lawyers combined and learning is meaningless to many students. We're afraid of living a life without purpose and having rewards in the process.

[diaxdiax]

I have an existential crisis since my childhood, now i'm 21 and my life is better but far from perfect, but that kind of videos makes my days, so thank you, we should concentrate to live 'deeply and not extensively' <3

[itslizmcmahon]

I used to have a vibrant life until a series of traumatic events gave me C-PTSD. I'm trying to work through it so I can live again...

[oddiunapologetic]

I am almost 30 years old, unemployed due to covid 19. I don't own my own home, a car or have a family yet. It sometimes feels like I haven't lived certain parts of my life to it fullest.