mortality awareness - Scars That Teach

Does Thinking About Death Make You Live Better? What the Research Says

Sep 22, 2026 by Solomon Turner

Does thinking about death make you live better? The honest answer is: sometimes, and not automatically. Research on mortality awareness has documented two very different reactions to confronting the fact of death, a defensive one that narrows a person, and a more constructive one that seems to open them up. This piece looks at what

Thinking About Your Own Mortality: Why It Might Be One of the Most Clarifying Things You Can Do

Sep 9, 2026 by Solomon Turner

Thinking about your own mortality is something most people spend a remarkable amount of energy avoiding, and that avoidance has a cost most people never see clearly. Research on mortality awareness suggests the effect is not as one-sided as it is usually made out to be: it can sharpen fear, but it can also clarify