It is a heavy thought, isn't it? For all we know we might not get tomorrow. Most of us spend our Tuesday afternoons worrying about a spreadsheet or a slightly passive-aggressive email from a manager, completely ignoring the fact that the clock is ticking. This isn't just some morbid sentiment you’d find on a dusty greeting card. It’s a biological and statistical reality that our brains are literally hardwired to ignore so we can function without having a constant panic attack.
We live in a culture of "later." We’ll start that passion project later. We’ll forgive that friend later. We’ll finally take that trip when the savings account hits a specific, arbitrary number. But the thing is, "later" is a promissory note that the universe hasn't actually signed.
Honestly, the phrase for all we know we might not get tomorrow shouldn't be depressing. It should be a massive, caffeinated wake-up call. When you really sit with that idea—not just skim over it, but feel it in your chest—your priorities shift instantly.
The Science of Mortality Salience
Psychologists call this "Mortality Salience." It’s basically what happens to your brain when you’re forced to remember that you aren’t immortal. According to Terror Management Theory (TMT), a framework developed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski, humans are unique because we have this massive drive to survive, yet we are smart enough to know we eventually won't.
This creates a ton of internal friction.
Usually, we cope by diving into "cultural anxiety buffers." We buy things. We seek status. We try to build a legacy so we feel like we’ll live on forever. But researchers have found that when people are reminded of the fragility of life in a healthy way—not a scary, "the world is ending" way—they actually become more empathetic. They become more focused on intrinsic goals like personal growth and relationships rather than extrinsic stuff like fame or money.
Think about the "Urgency Effect." It’s a cognitive bias where we prioritize small, unimportant tasks with immediate deadlines over massive, life-changing goals that don't have a "due date." We check our notifications because they’re red and blinking, but we don't write that book because there’s no alarm going off telling us to do it right now. Understanding that for all we know we might not get tomorrow flips that script. It adds the missing deadline to the things that actually matter.
Why We Procrastinate on Being Happy
Have you ever noticed how we treat our future selves like strangers?
Functional MRI scans show that when people think about themselves in the future, the brain activity looks remarkably similar to when they think about a completely different person. This is why it’s so easy to screw over "Future You" by eating junk food or blowing your savings. You’re basically asking a stranger to deal with the consequences.
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- We assume tomorrow is a guaranteed resource.
- We overvalue the comfort of the present moment.
- We’re terrified of failing at something we actually care about, so we just don't start.
But if you knew for a fact that the next twenty-four hours were your last, you wouldn't be worried about whether your Instagram caption was perfect. You’d be calling your mom. You’d be eating the expensive chocolate you’ve been saving for a "special occasion." You would finally be authentic.
Lessons from the Palliative Care Frontlines
Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who spent years working in palliative care, famously documented the "Top Five Regrets of the Dying." Her work is a stark reminder of what happens when we ignore the reality that for all we know we might not get tomorrow.
The number one regret? "I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
It sounds so simple, yet it's the hardest thing to do. Most people on their deathbeds weren't wishing they’d worked more overtime. They weren't wishing they’d won more arguments on the internet. They were mourning the versions of themselves they never let out of the box.
There's a specific kind of clarity that comes with the end. It’s like the fog finally clears, and you realize you spent forty years worrying about things that didn't even matter for forty minutes.
The Stoic Perspective: Memento Mori
The ancient Stoics were obsessed with this. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, used to remind himself constantly: "You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think."
This wasn't about being a pessimist. It was about being a realist.
They used a practice called Premeditatio Malorum—the premeditation of evils. They would imagine the worst-case scenarios, including their own death, not to be sad, but to remove the power that fear had over them. If you’ve already accepted that for all we know we might not get tomorrow, then today becomes a gift. You stop complaining about the traffic and start noticing the way the light hits the trees. You stop being annoyed by your partner's quirks and start being grateful they’re there to have quirks in the first place.
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It's about radical appreciation.
Practical Steps to Live Like Tomorrow Isn't Guaranteed
So, what do you actually do with this information? How do you move from "that's a deep thought" to "this changed my life"?
It’s about small, aggressive shifts in behavior.
First, stop saving things. The "good" China. The "nice" perfume. The "expensive" bottle of wine. If you're waiting for a special occasion, you're missing the point—the fact that you're alive today is the special occasion.
Second, fix your "Minimum Viable Relationships." If there's someone you love, tell them. If there's an apology you owe, send it. Do not leave things unsaid. There is nothing more haunting than a conversation that can never happen because one person is no longer there to hear it.
Third, audit your time ruthlessly. Look at your screen time. If you’re spending four hours a day scrolling through short-form videos of people you don't even like, you are literally burning the most precious resource you have. You're trading your life for a dopamine hit that lasts three seconds.
The "One Year" Filter
Try this: Every time you're stressed about something, ask yourself, "Will this matter in a year?"
If the answer is no, give it exactly five minutes of your energy and then move on. If the answer is yes, then give it everything you’ve got. Most of the things that keep us up at night are "no" answers. We are majoring in minor things.
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Embrace the "No"
Living with the awareness that for all we know we might not get tomorrow means you have to get very comfortable saying "no" to things that don't align with your soul. Say no to the boring party. Say no to the toxic "friend." Say no to the job that is slowly crushing your spirit.
Your time is finite. Treat it like the currency it is.
The Counter-Intuitive Joy of Finitude
There’s a weird paradox here. When we admit we’re going to die, we finally start living.
When you stop pretending you have forever, the "somedays" turn into "todays." You start that business. You take that painting class. You finally tell that person you’re in love with them.
The pressure of "forever" is actually what causes a lot of our anxiety. We feel like we have to build this massive, perfect life that will stand the test of time. But when you realize that life is just a series of "now" moments, the pressure vanishes. All you have to do is be okay right now. All you have to do is be kind right now.
Moving Forward: Actionable Insights
Living with the reality that for all we know we might not get tomorrow requires a shift in your daily operating system.
- The Morning Check-In: Before you check your phone, remind yourself that today is a bonus. It’s not a given. This sounds cheesy, but it sets the tone for your entire day. It changes how you react when someone cuts you off in traffic.
- The "Unsent" Letter: Write the letters you’ve been meaning to write. You don't even have to send them all, but get the words out. Acknowledge the impact people have had on you.
- Micro-Adventures: Stop waiting for the two-week vacation in July. Find a way to make Tuesday night interesting. Go to a new park, try a weird food, or just sit outside and look at the stars.
- Ruthless Prioritization: Pick the top three things that actually make you feel alive and schedule them. If they aren't on the calendar, they aren't happening.
We are all walking each other home. None of us are getting out of this alive, and that is the most beautiful, unifying thing about being human. The clock is ticking, but that’s not a threat. It’s an invitation. Use it.
Start that thing you’ve been putting off. Reach out to that person. Eat the good food. Because for all we know we might not get tomorrow, and today is far too precious to waste on "later."