Guys between age of 45 and 55 do you think about death or does it seem far away

Early 30s.. in my 20s I only wanted to live till my min 60s due to seeing the quality of my dad's, and Grandmothers lives not be great due to health issues. Older people on here talking about quality of life really is all I care about. I found a girl and that has given me a bit more reason to want to keep living past that age. I have other big things in life I want to accomplish but if I didn't and died tomorrow I don't think I would have big regrets (though probably should write a will) just small ones around how I treated some people here and there that I'm sure everyone has. Those accomplishments don't require being extremely physically healthy just not physically disabled and are geared toward different ages in life 40s, 50s and 60s.. after that if my quality of life isn't bad and I don't have any dependents I can give up on accomplishments which would likely mean death would soon follow.. I have a few of children as something you invest in for society so once they are in their mid 20s I've done my job and they should be able to handle life without me.

I'm 58, so I'm not qualified to give an opinion in the age group you are interested in, but to me, death is very far away, and I don't think about it one bit, other than having my estate inheritance prepared for my wife and children when the day comes.

LOL. That rings so true with me. I don't worry about my own death. It's the thought of something awful happening to my wife and children that concerns me.

Death could come today, tomorrow or in 50 years. I make sure my affairs are in order. I make wise decisions that don't put me at increased risk of death. It's very unlikely I die in the next 10 or 20 years. But you never know. We all know someone.

Based on your question, it does not bode well for you to even ask. I will pray for your soul.

Oddly enough when I was younger I was scared of death. Then I volunteered at a nursing home in high school, where most of the residents were 80+. Honestly, not a single one of them feared death. In fact, most appeared quite ready to "move on". Nearly all of them lost their spouses, most of their friends, some even outlived their children. They had mobility issues, health problems, severe insomnia, and all the other stuff that comes with being old. They seemed really lonely.

If they were not afraid of death, in fact they were in some ways looking forward to it, why should I be afraid of death? Of course, I would love to make it to 85 in in great shape and then pass away in my sleep (not die of something horrific like cancer or ALS). But living too long also comes with a very large set of problems.

Great post.

No one lives forever, no one. But with advances in modern science and my high level income, it's not crazy to think I can live to be 245, maybe 300. Heck, I just read in the newspaper that they put a pig heart in some guy from Russia. Do you know what that means?

I like to think of Jesus like with giant eagle's wings, and singin' lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd with like an angel band and I'm in the front row and I'm hammered drunk!

-- MikeHoncho33

I am in my late 40's and have certainly been thinking more about death the past couple of years but in a positive light. While my parents are still both active and healthy, all of my grandparents have passed and I lost my father-in-law a couple of years ago. The town we live in is largely a retirement community, so at church many of the people I enjoy associating with are in their 70's and 80's - many of whom are still active and even go skiing / biking. As the imminence of death inches closer I think less on worldly, material matters and concerns and more on things that are everlasting. Time with family becomes more important while having the latest gadget or a fancier car or the like become less appealing. Developing greater patience, kindness, empathy, etc., are more valuable than worldly status and recognition. Truly, the closer that I inch towards the eventual end of mortality, the more I recognize what a blessing and gift that each and every day of life is.

I discovered I had an incurable blood cancer and only 5-8 years left at age 50. I was depressed and scared. However, I didn’t know that treatments had improved greatly and too little time had passed for prognostications to catch up. Now 66 and, in hind sight, the cancer diagnosis and brush with early death were a blessing. I feel lucky to be alive since I could (should?) be dead. I don’t fear death at all anymore but just enjoy whatever life I have left.

Actually, I do/or did remember. When I was a little kid I told my parents a story about falling asleep in the sand on a big beach with a bunch of other guys wearing army uniforms. I got scared when the tide came in and I could not move. I completely forgot the story by the time I was about 5. I only remember because my parents wrote it down.

65 now. I did worry about death as I approached 50. I felt like that was sort of my last chance athletically, so I worked very hard to drop my 5K times. Then I felt like better days were behind me. I was wrong. I feel right now almost the same as I did when I was in my 20’s. NO I can’t run that fast, but, internally, I feel the same.

No worries at all about death or what may or may not come after now. I DO worry about deteriorating to the point where I can’t take care of myself. That would suck.

At 84, I don't worry about death as much as I did when I was in the marines at Parris Island at 18.

I now worry about the impact of minor injuries (shin splints, achilles) on my ability to win (or place) in over 85 world masters races next year.

I think about death everyday at age 32

43yo. I think about it every day and have for years. The context is not out of fear. It is about recognizing that our time is limited and using it as drive to prioritize spending time with people I care about and doing things that I enjoy.

I've cut a number of relationships that drained me to focus on those that energize me. Same with activities. I'll spend money to avoid things that drain me so I have more time to devote to activities that I enjoy. Overall I'm a happier and move with greater intent as a result of thinking about death.

Hey George good luck with the racing (and the achilles!)

Just curious and tangential to this thread:

You do a lot of thinking about the course of nations and economies. It's easy to get pessimistic as 'kids these days' feelings can be overwhelming even to optimists. In other words, we get pessimistic as we get older because the old ways have changed and the new ways don't make sense to us anymore.

So a couple things...Do you actively try to adjust for age's affect on how you view the world and the path it is on?

Are you pessimistic given the difficult politics in the US?

Do you think we live in a pivot time? When the history books say 'things changed in the post-covid/trump era?' Or do you think things should muddle on pretty much the same?

Hope you are well and feel like answering.

Yeah...like loneliness. 😔

You can have all the physical health in the world, but as you get up there in years, and don't have a spouse, or children or any close friends, life can become unbearable.

And it's hard to find quality, sincere friends these days. We live in a cyber-world now - glued to our phones 24/7. With social media, dating apps, etc, face to face human interaction is diminishing while we become zombified to our electronic devices.

Even at the gym where in the old days I used to make a lot of friends, everyone has ear buds in or wearing headphones glued to their phone. No body talks to anyone more...no one says hi...no one even smiles. Everyone is lost in their own cyber-world.

After volunteering at that nursing home, I came to realize that a "long peaceful sleep" (as one guy called it) is better than being a lonely 85+ year old in failing health, limited mobility, and in chronic pain. If those older folks had anywhere from a few months to a few years left, and they had zero fear of death, why should I fear it when statistically speaking I have 30 years left and 15 of those should be "good" years? And some of them even looked forward to death - going to heaven, reuniting with their deceased spouse and children, or just finally being free of pain and loneliness.

I'm well beyond the age range you're asking about but I went to Catholic schools for 12 years. I've probably thought about death and what if anything comes next multiple times a day since I was six.