On Mortality and the Fear of Insignificance
Further to this post on the fear of mortality.
The fear of mortality is not so much the fear of a finite life, but rather the fear of a life that passed without significance.
But what is significance?
Would you rather have a $2 million mansion or win the Nobel prize worth $1.2 million. Is it achieving power and wealth or writing a book that future generations will continue to read? Each one would have a different answer.
But what I've seen from most people is that if you ask them which one they preferred - recognition from others such as awards, or the appreciation from their loved ones such as their family - many would choose the latter.
The fear of insignificance is not about being insignificant to the world but in being insignificant to the ones we love. We would rather live on in their hearts than on a shelf in a library.
The fear of mortality is not so much the fear of a finite life, but rather the fear of a life that passed without significance.
But what is significance?
Would you rather have a $2 million mansion or win the Nobel prize worth $1.2 million. Is it achieving power and wealth or writing a book that future generations will continue to read? Each one would have a different answer.
But what I've seen from most people is that if you ask them which one they preferred - recognition from others such as awards, or the appreciation from their loved ones such as their family - many would choose the latter.
The fear of insignificance is not about being insignificant to the world but in being insignificant to the ones we love. We would rather live on in their hearts than on a shelf in a library.
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