Memento Mori
“Memento Mori”
I was first introduced to this phrase by Ryan Holiday—I’m not sure which of his books I first read it or if it was in his Daily Stoic email, but as soon as I read the meaning of it I knew it was something that would stay with me.
“Memento Mori” is a Latin phrase that translates to “remember you will die”.
Heavy, right?
There are multiple ways you can interpret Memento Mori. This reminder of our mortality could paralyze you and bring a constant state of fear of dying. This interpretation is not the intent of the phrase and I don’t recommend allowing it to keep you from living because you are afraid of dying.
I’ve chosen, and encourage you, to look at Memento Mori as a reminder not to waste our energy (and time). Instead of leading to less living, it is a reminder to do more living. In fact, I even had the image from Ryan Holiday’s Memento Mori coin tattooed on my right forearm…a skull with a vase of flowers on the right and an hour glass on the left: The skull represents our mortality. The flowers represent life. The hour glass represents time.
Unlike most tattoos, this reminder of Memento Mori is placed on my forearm to allow me to see it correctly when I look down—most tattoos are placed for others to see correctly, but this tattoo is a reminder for me.
Cool story: I was at a conference years ago and Ryan Holiday was a keynote speaker and signed books after his talk. I was able to get a copy of The Daily Stoic signed by him and show him the tattoo inspired by his coin. I wish the story continued that we became friends but he just snapped a picture of it and went back to signing books. One day I hope to meet him for a conversation—I think it’ll happen.
We all already know Memento Mori’s truth, although our mortality is a subject most of us shy away from. As a financial advisor, I often see this with an uncomfortable shift in energy, posture, and tone of conversations when the topic shifts to estate and insurance planning.
I don’t love thinking about my death, but I also don’t love the idea of looking back at my life with regrets of not doing and experiencing more—I actually find more discomfort in the latter.
Getting comfortable with my inevitable death has allowed me to no longer fear it—I don’t necessarily welcome it but I’m no longer afraid. I’ve shifted what used to be fear to an awareness of making sure I try to maximize the time I do have left.
With whatever time I have left I am focused on living my authentic life.
Allow Memento Mori to become a North Star in your life. Allow Memento Mori to check whether or not the life you are currently experiencing is the one you want to continue with the time you have left. Allow Memento Mori to help you prioritize who and to what you give your energy to.
If you’ve ever needed a nudge to prioritize your efforts to connect your spirit, mind, body, and money let Memento Mori be that nudge—that positive reinforcement that we aren’t going to be in the experience forever and you owe it to your Self to maximize the time you do have.
See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,
JC
