Is later already too late?
Hi friends, it has been more than a month since I wrote about “connecting the dots”:
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This is why you can’t wait until later - from Ryan Holiday
In a very personal article, the author shares the awful reality of one of his too-late moments and how it taught him the importance of doing things now.
After receiving an e-mail from his friend sharing his next published science article, Ryan decided to postpone his reply and less than 72 hours later, his friend collapsed of a fatal heart attack.
Ryan admits that “It would have been so easy for me to reply and tell him how happy I was with what he had written” and adds “How hard would it have been to give even the courtesy of acknowledging his e-mail”.
He adds, “You think you have tomorrow. You very well may not”.
This is what makes us mortal, and why Ryan decided to follow this simple rule: “I tell people how I feel about them when I have the chance.”
What we call the present is at the heart of Ryan’s experience, he writes about thoughts popping up in his head and adds “I take it as a sign: You need to reach out. […] Don’t assume you’ll get another chance. […] Accept the gift in front of you - it is the present“.
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Hug your loved ones […] If you think something nice - from Sahil Bloom
At the end of every year, Sahil conducts his annual review. From the lessons he learned in 2022, he explains why we should “Hold those hugs just a little bit longer. Make the other person be the one to pull away”.
The author describes a moment where him and his son escaped a terrible accident by a few seconds, pointing out the randomness of life. Our last moment is often unpredictable and that’s why we should “Hug like it might be the last time”.
Sahil also reflects on how “we often wait until a person’s funeral to say all of the nice things we thought about them”. In fact, we sometimes assume people know how we feel about them and how we keep to ourselves the positive thoughts we have towards them.
Sahil adds “Give them the flowers while they can still smell them”.
Highlighting our ignorance of the present, mentioned in Ryan’s article.
We tend to assume there will be tomorrow, even when we shouldn’t.
And there, is where the dots connect!
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