Every man dies. Not every man really lives.
William Wallace
Regardless of the cultural and religious beliefs about the life after death, the general consensus around the world is that the life we live here is transient. This fact gets increasingly conspicuous as we grow older.
Life is short-lived. The older we get, the more we begin to appreciate the little things that make our lives more livable. While we have no control over how long we live, we can prioritize what matters the most to us. These priorities serve as markers in our day-to-day lives, especially in the pursuit of our goals. The better we are at prioritizing stuff, the more likely we are to accomplish our targets.
Eventually, when one is on their deathbed, probably the biggest question they ask themselves is if they will be leaving with a sense of accomplishment or not. As subjective as it may sound, the answer to this question largely depends on whether they made the most of the limited time they had on their hands. The question whether they lived a meaningful life or not can be answered by contrasting what they achieved with what they had set out to accomplish.
Arguably the best way to add more meaning to our lives is by changing our outlook on life. When we aim to make each day count, everything else just falls into place. Over time, we learn to decide what comes first in our priority list. This helps us take care of the more important things first, so that we can leave without any regrets even if life were to come to an end the following day.
Sir William Wallace, popularly known as William Wallace, was a Scottish knight. Renowned for his role in the First War of Scottish Independence, Wallace once said: “Every man dies. Not every man really lives.”