10 Good Things About Dying (Death Dragon Strategy)
List what's good about death to make today matter.
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 70%
This is Amen's favorite strategy for taming the 'death dragon,' the fear of death that COVID has intensified. He argues denial of death drives empty, purposeless lives, because believing you'll live forever makes you neglect relationships and unresolved issues. The antidote is to accept the end and make today important, using two exercises: writing your own funeral, and listing ten good things about dying. Amen's own list is playful, from never driving in LA traffic again to never visiting the dentist. Looking at what's good about death takes the sting out and turns mortality into a motivator.
Origin
Amen wrote his own funeral in college and developed the death dragon strategies for Your Brain Is Always Listening, noting COVID's death numbers have made this fear far more common.
Core principles
- 01Denial of death is partly responsible for empty, purposeless lives.
- 02Knowing there's an end makes today important.
- 03Listing what's good about dying takes some of the sting out of it.
- 04Death can be life's greatest motivator.
How to run it
- 1
Accept the end
Acknowledge that you are going to die, since denial of death is what fuels empty, purposeless living.
Pro tip Write your own funeral to make the reality of an end concrete.
- 2
List ten good things about dying
Write down ten genuinely good things about death, mixing serious and playful, to take the sting out of it.
Pro tip Humor works; Amen lists never driving LA traffic or visiting the dentist again.
- 3
Make today matter
Use the awareness of an end to make today important and to take care of the relationships and issues you've been avoiding.
In the wild
In college Amen wrote his own funeral, which he found very helpful for knowing there is an end, and he keeps a list of ten good things about dying, including never having to drive LA traffic or go to the dentist again.
→ Knowing there's an end pushes him to make each day important rather than postponing what matters.
Common mistakes
Denying death
Living as if you'll last forever leads you to neglect the relationships and issues you most need to address.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who procrastinate on meaning and relationships because mortality feels abstract or terrifying.
Not ideal for
Those in acute grief who may need gentler support before doing mortality exercises.
From the transcript
“one of my favorite techniques is to actually list 10 good things about dying”
“it's the denial of death that is partially responsible for people living empty purposeless lives”
From the episode
Dr. Daniel Amen: Brain Boosting Habits
Dr. Daniel Amen