Reflecting Deeply on How Short Life Really Is
Your Weekly INFJ Insight and Journal Prompt 👀
You might think about death more than most people do.
Does that shock you? I don’t mean in a morbid way, but in a deep, contemplative way that seeks meaning.
This statement is backed up by our personality research: INFJs are the most likely personality type to say they reflect deeply on how short life really is.
But this awareness can go one of two ways – it can pull you into the present moment in a richer way, giving you more appreciation for it, or it can drag you into overwhelming thoughts about existence.
Depth That Creates Appreciation
Let’s talk about the first path: when your awareness of your own mortality makes you more alive to what’s actually happening right now.
When you truly understand that this moment won’t come again, it transforms ordinary experiences into something sacred. That morning coffee tastes richer when you realize how finite these quiet moments are. A conversation with a parent becomes more meaningful when you’re aware that neither of you will be here forever.
You have a tendency to find profound meaning in simple things that others might rush past, and that’s beautiful, dear INFJ.
But your gift for deep reflection can also turn into a trap…
When Deep Thinking Becomes Overthinking
Instead of using your awareness of life’s brevity to appreciate the present, you might get stuck spiraling about the future.
What if I’m wasting my life?
What’s the point of any of this?
Am I living up to my potential?
How will I continue on without them when they die?
These thoughts can pull you so far into your head that you miss the very moments you’re trying to make meaningful.
Your contemplation becomes rumination. Instead of being present with what’s happening now, you’re mentally time-traveling to imagine all the ways life could go wrong or all the things you should be doing differently.
The irony is brutal – your desire to live meaningfully can actually prevent you from experiencing the meaning that’s available right now.
Finding Joy Now
It’s easy to get caught in the trap of trying to maximize every moment – so much so that you end up missing them entirely. This might look like being too in your own head, spiraling about whether you’re doing enough, becoming enough, or leaving behind something meaningful.
But what if you looked at this awareness of life’s brevity as a cue not to strive harder, but to soften into the present?
You might tell yourself you’ll be happy once you’ve helped enough people, discovered your purpose, or made a big enough difference. But joy isn’t something you have to earn. It’s something you’re allowed to feel now.
Let’s explore that with some journaling.
Today, your journal prompt is:
If you only had a year left, how would you live more joyfully – and who would you choose to spend that time with?
You don’t need to wait until everything is figured out to enjoy your life and relationships. Joy isn’t the reward at the end of your mission – it’s what makes that mission sustainable and deeply human.
Staying Present
As you move through the week, let any thoughts about mortality or meaning draw you into the present rather than away from it.
And if you find yourself spiraling into existential overwhelm, remember: the answer isn’t to think less deeply, but to root that depth in what’s real and unfolding right now. Your contemplative nature offers access to a richness many overlook, but only when it brings you into the moment, not into endless mental loops.
It’s in the present that your depth ripens into wisdom – and your awareness of life’s brevity becomes a gentle but urgent call to live fully.
P.S. Looking for more concrete action steps? On Thursday, we’ll look at how you can use your awareness of how fleeting life can be as a doorway to presence rather than a trap that keeps you stuck in your head. Keep your eyes open for that to land in your inbox.
As always your post on the exact point of my life, make me think 🌹.
Mortality- the one constant topic I have in my mind for the past xx years.
But it always feels unsafe to talk about or even make mention of it outside of my own monologue- fearing the uncomfortableness it will stir in others.
I find peace more than sadness thinking about it, because it’s the only part of this life that is certain - death.
Every living things will taste death. Every other experience in between is a bonus.
As a practicing Muslim, knowing there’s an afterlife, where I would finally return and be reunited with my Rabb, brings comfort and strength going through the internal and external turmoil of this worldly life.