Call me morbid. I don’t mind. I speak to people about their theoretical death every day.

What they want for their VIPS (family, friends, pets, loved ones). We talk about end of life wishes, medical, social and spiritual. My job is to, as best I can, understand what they want, what I can do to help make that happen, what could go wrong and then put in place a plan.

But have you ever considered your death date? The day you are statistically likely to kick the bucket?

Neither had I, until today.

I was listening to a favourite podcast of mine “This Working Life”, an ABC podcast presented by Lisa Leong. Lisa was interviewing Michael Bungay about his new book “How to Begin: Start Doing Something That Matters” and his ideas. [Added to my reading list.]

No one can know exactly when they will die. It’s the big unknown. But we all know we are going to die. No one likes to contemplate it … but we will all die. It’s a given. But did you know you can calculate your approximate death date based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics Life Tables?

Mind blown! Hello rabbit hole. So off I went search actuarial tables, leading me to the ABS website, where I found the life tables. The statistics change depending on your date of birth, sex and where you live. Women live longer than men (I think most people know that). ACT residents live the longest and NT residents the shortest. Capital cities trump regional areas. Pretty interesting stuff. If you are someone who loves the detail the statistical methodology is available here.

Skimming through the reports, I was having trouble finding the statistics for kids born in the golden era of the 80s. There was a 20-year cut off in the data I could find readily available on the ABS website.

So back to google I went. And what a little gem I found.

The Age has kindly made a death date calculator, using the ABS data. Thankyou The Age! I’ll leave it to you to make your own enquiries about its accuracy. Was good enough for me.

Death calculator.

My approximate death: 8^th May 2067.

That’s my death date – in theory. My date with the grim reaper. If I’m lucky enough to get to that date, I’ll be 83.

Wow! That really makes you think. Like big picture, what do I want in life think. Like how many years is that? Also, some quick calculations. How long does Ed have to live? What about my parents? How many years is that? Holy macaroni.

It’s easy to feel like you are going to live forever. Even me. Even someone who talks about theoretical deaths all day for work. We feel like we’ve got years to get that thing sorted, catch up with that good friend, make a difference, teach our children something important. But it’s really not that much time.

So, where do you go from there? Thankfully Michael Bungay comes to the rescue. Back to the podcast, where he then goes on to say that life is short, so let’s make the most of it.

Can I get a heck yes?

By this point – in the middle of a very warm late January afternoon (yes can you believe January 2023 is nearly over!), still in my togs and towel fresh from a quick dip – I’m suddenly feeling very motivated.

Not “take another dip, get an ice-cream from the freezer and have a little nap” motivated. No, actual, let’s do something really awesome this year, nay this week!, motivated.

And then that’s when he throws in the kicker. Apparently, a Kevin Kelly has found that it’s possible for most of us to tackle one big project every 5 years. This is good. I love a good framework. And Michael’s put together a goodie.

How many 5-year periods do I have left? Almost 9

How old will my children be for each period? 12, 10 and 7 by the end of the next 5 years

What are my parenting goals?

What are my relationship goals?

What are my personal development goals?

What do we want to achieve with GLaw over the next 5 years?

Lots of very big questions. I’ve written them down in the notes section of my diary (reserved for very important, special types of notes only …) and need to ponder them awhile longer.

It’s clear though that I’m super keen to make it to 83 – at least. Which aligns with my plan this year to prioritise my health. Over work. Over family. Over it all. I’m guessing it’s in everyone’s best interest.

Enter – “worthy goals”. Is this worth your life? Your time, energy, commitment, journeying, unexpectedness, adventure. Is it worth you taking it on? It should be thrilling, it should be daunting and it should be important.

I think what Michael is getting at is that it should be a Big Hairy Audacious Goal or BHAG.

I am very on board with BHAGs. I make them a habit. I’ve already committed to a BHAG this year that you are going to hear a little about soon. [Shameless plug – all our best and juiciest secrets are released via email first – so make sure you are on our email list. Sign up at the bottom of our homepage.]

In the name of accountability here’s my new worthy goal:

Make sure every day I have little pockets of joyful movement or peaceful times of reflection through movement that clear my mind, nourish my body and support my health.

I will do this using the “put my own mask on first” principal and prioritise my movement.

I will try new forms of movement that are daunting.

I found this podcast episode one of the most helpful I’ve come across this festive period. It stands out in an absolute waterfall of goal setting and new year content. If you too are looking for something to kick off your motivation this year, I highly recommend giving it a listen.

How fascinating!!

Need an accountability buddy? Shoot me an email with your goal. I won’t reply. I won’t harass you. But you will know that I know, and I think that will help.