How would knowing the time of your death change how you lived?

I would try to get my end-of-life paperwork in order, otherwise probably not much would change. I spent a chunk of 2022 waiting on a potentially bad diagnosis, already worked this out.

I, like anyone else, would go totally snake shit for the time remaining.

Depends on the specifics.

If I somehow knew when but not any other details, I’d be really curious how that could make any sense. And depending on that, might change my relationship to life and the universe, since how would I know that, and what does that imply?

For example, if I thought events were pre-determined, what actual choice does that imply I have about anything? And how could I know about that?

Depending on how long I had to live, I’d be spending quite a bit of the savings I have. I’d also travel, which, of course, would be some of the aforementioned spending.

This is so scary! I was thinking this EXACT same thing last weekend. And how could I think anything at all like @seawulf575?
So my thoughts were along the lines of if I knew I was going to die soonish, within the next 2 years say, I could just retire now and spend all of my savings on fun stuff and not worry about saving it to pay for my potentially future nursing home.
I would see friends and family more often.
Now on the flip side of that, if I knew I would live 20 more years, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d still save my money, be careful of how I spent it, and not retire until next year.

@kritiper We go batshit here, never heard snakeshit lol.

I’d probably help more people, take time to visit family to say goodbye, likely microdose shrooms until the end.

If it were relatively soon, I’d probably spend a thrid of my time in France near one son’s family, a thrid in California and a third here in my house. I’d give my kids more money now rather than saving it for continued retirement and old age care and give more to charity. If it were in 20 years – well, that’s about when it will be.

@chyna I’m not sure that thinking like me was one of the signs of the end of times! ;-}

There was a sci-fi movie a couple years ago with that as its theme – people would know exactly when they would die. (I don’t remember the title, it wasn’t much of a hit, and I am sure it is long forgotten.

Anyway – I thought about the question back then, and I decided that I really did not want to know when I would die. My theory – back then – was I would spend too much time dwelling on my impending demise, and not enough time living and enjoying life.

My thinking hasn’t changed. I don’t want to know. Whether it’s tomorrow or 30 years from now.

@elbanditoroso I think it might have been called The Immortals? I read a novel of that name that it might have been based on.

@janbb No, that’s not it. I’m going to have to do some digging. Probably the last 5 years.

@elbaditoroso Was it Time with Justin Timberlake?

If I live to old age then nothing changes. If I’m slated for an early death, everything changes.

If I knew, I’d be in a depressed state, unless the date were to be decades from now. If it were in a few months or a few years, I feel that even if I did fun things, trips, spending time with friends and family, I’d be depressed. The only difference in the way I lived might be to spend more freely and take some more trips, if the date were within the next few years.