Eric-Jorgenson The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant indd

How do you learn to accept things you can’t change?
Fundamentally, it boils down to one big hack: embracing death.
Death is the most important thing that is ever going to happen 
to you. When you look at your death and you acknowledge it, 
rather than running away from it, it’ll bring great meaning to 
your life. We spend so much of our life trying to avoid death. 
So much of what we struggle for can be classified as a quest 
for immortality.
If you’re religious and believe there is an afterlife, then you’ll 
be taken care of. If you’re not religious, maybe you’ll have kids. 
If you’re an artist, a painter, or a businessman, you want to 
leave a legacy behind.
Here’s a hot tip: There is no legacy. There’s nothing to leave. 
We’re all going to be gone. Our children will be gone. Our works 
will be dust. Our civilizations will be dust. Our planet will be 
dust. Our solar system will be dust. In the grand scheme of 
things, the Universe has been around for ten billion years. It’ll 
be around for another ten billion years.
Your life is a firefly blink in a night. You’re here for such a brief 
period of time. If you fully acknowledge the futility of what 
you’re doing, then I think it can bring great happiness and 
peace because you realize this is a game. But it’s a fun game. All 
that matters is you experience your reality as you go through 
life. Why not interpret it in the most positive possible way?

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L E A R N I N G H A P P I N E S S · 155
Any moment where you’re not having a great time, when you’re 
not really happy, you’re not doing anyone any favors. It’s not 
like your unhappiness makes them better off somehow. All 
you’re doing is wasting this incredibly small and precious time 
you have on this Earth. Keeping death on the forefront and not 
denying it is very important.
Whenever I get caught up in my ego battles, I just think of 
entire civilizations that have come and gone. For example, take 
the Sumerians. I’m sure they were important people and did 
great things, but go ahead and name me a single Sumerian. 
Tell me anything interesting or important Sumerians did that 
lasted. Nothing.
So maybe ten thousand years from now or a hundred thou-
sand years from now, people will say, “Oh yeah, Americans. 
I’ve heard of Americans.” [8]
You’re going to die one day, and none of this is going to matter. 
So enjoy yourself. Do something positive. Project some love. 
Make someone happy. Laugh a little bit. Appreciate the 
moment. And do your work. [8]

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