How Much Life Is Enough?

Our Lives Are Exactly How Long They’re Supposed To Be

I think to myself sometimes that it would be great if I could live for 200 years (assuming I am healthy, mobile, and generally able-bodied to do everything I want to do). I would be able to do so many different things, experience life for so much longer, and enjoy our planet for twice the amount of time.

Then, I realize my perspective would probably shift if that were my reality. I would anticipate living longer, and therefore my routine would change to match that, as would society. If human beings get to the point of living for 200 years, they will adapt and society will look different than it does today, but the fundamental attitudes about life and living will likely remain the same. People will still get bogged down with work, cooking, school, and chores.

Once future humans reach 180, 190, or 200 years old, they will say the same old thing: that they wished they had more time, had spent theirs better, had done more with what they had. On one hand, it is double the length we are currently used to; on the other hand, it never feels like enough time. That is precisely what is happening now, because human beings historically had far shorter lifespans than they do today.

Consider how our horizons have already shifted. In 1850, a typical twenty-year-old in the U.S. had an expected lifespan of around sixty years. Today, that same twenty-year-old can expect to reach nearly eighty. We effectively gained two decades of life, yet the feeling of running out of time never vanished.

If scientists can figure out how to prevent neurological degeneration and replace failing organs with robotics, we will fundamentally change how long we live. Who knows what the future holds, but if future humans can increase their lifespans, they will likely want to keep pushing that boundary.

Any breakthrough in this arena would shift our time horizon, but it still lands in the exact same place. If you could live for 200 years, you would likely keep working for far longer, the same issues would remain, routines would still exist, and time would slip away just as it does today.

This brings me to my realization.

I am good with the time that I have been given. I am happy with it, and you should seek to be happy with yours too, however much that may be. There are no guarantees in life, no definitive promise of tomorrow, no visible clock ticking down. All we can do is live our lives as much as possible in the moment.

There is a balance to strike as well, because you want to be able to enjoy all aspects of your life. For example, you should not forgo saving money for retirement just to blow every dollar today. Save some, spend some, and find joy in the present without burning tomorrow just to warm up today.

Let’s try a thought experiment: Imagine you could live forever. Nothing can hurt you, you do not age, and no disease will ever touch you. It might sound nice for a while, but eventually things get dull, and the nectar of life begins to taste just as gray as everything else.

If the rest of the world remains normal while you are the only one who lives forever, you will endure endless cycles of making friends and family only to watch them leave you behind. Conversely, if everyone lived forever, the planet would quickly become overcrowded; the green and blue would eventually be whisked away into gray and beige. Perhaps we would leave Earth and colonize other star systems, but even then, through the vastness of time, the galaxy will eventually fade and every star in the Milky Way will go dark. You would be left floating in a vast ocean of darkness while the rest of existence moved on with the universe.

Some might say, “So what? I’ll just upload my mind to a digital world!” But even digital worlds require energy, physical servers, and infrastructure. When the galaxy fades away, so will any simulated experience.

There is no escaping where everything is headed, and only the universe knows what comes next. My takeaway is simple: enjoy the time we have now, and stop worrying about why having just a little bit more would make things better.

More does not equal better. Less does not equal worse.

Plenty of people reach old age bitter and hateful, while many children who pass away at ten lived vibrant, loving lives full of genuine presence. A longer story is not inherently a better story. Our lives are already long enough; the only challenge is learning how to inhabit them while we are here.