What If I Have One Year Left To Live?

Dying has been a taboo subject for many, especially for Asians.  Personally for me, I am not too worried of passing on, as I do not have any children who are dependent on me.  I am just very very worried to be in a bed-ridden state for whatever reason.  Besides that, in the event that I passed, my only worry will be my mum, but I believe my brother will take very good care of her, so no worries there as well.  So, why am I writing about this taboo subject?  

Due to family medical history, I do not think I will live a very long life (70 is probably a bonus number), however, nothing is absolute and predictable.  Therefore as much as I would like to get as many things done as early as possible to ensure minimal regrets, I will also need to protect myself from longevity risks.  Personally, being able to have a rough prediction of how much time I have left is a very fortunate thing, because that will enable me to prioritize and do as many things as I could with the time I have left.  However, how many individuals actually get that chance?  The most regretful event is the sudden passing without any clues or hints, which leaves much regrets of things undone and words unsaid.  As such, this thought came to my mind.  If I am told that I have one year left to live, what will I do?

I tried to put myself in the shoes of different individuals, to try to understand what and how they may feel:

1)     If I am a parent of a young child: my biggest regret and worry will be not being able to see my child grow up, and partake in his or her growing up years together.

2)     If I am the only child of aged parents: my biggest worry will be my parents, who may be left to fend for themselves in their golden years.

For me personally, as mentioned many times, its always my mum.  When my dad passed, I made the promise to my dad that I will take care of my mum (with my brother of course), and help my dad fulfill his wish of bring my mum to travel to places where they have not been to.  As such, I believe the top of my list will be to bring my mum to places where she has not been to, or activities she has yet to experience.

I am fortunate that I have the opportunity to do some of that.  I had the chance to bring her to a couple of ASEAN countries like Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Bangkok (Thailand), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), and also "cuti-cuti" around Malaysia!  Earlier, I have also brought her to Genting Dream Cruise and Royal Caribbean Cruise.  This year, a breakthrough out of ASEAN allowed me to plan a jittery trip with her to Kyoto-Osaka-Nara-Kobe (Japan)!  These trips are very cherished as it creates memories, both good and bad (lol), as we spent 24 hours a day together during the trip, and its definitely quality time for the both of us where we learn to accommodate each other, and for both of us to learn to be patient with each other and understand each other's needs more delicately.

In case readers think that my article is going out of scope, it is not.  Notice that the whole discussion above is all around my family.  This is because if I ever learnt that I have one year left to live, job and career progression will never be in my mind, nor will it ever be something I worry about.  The point I want to highlight here is in this time and day, do note that family and your loved ones are definitely more important that your job, your career (to check it yourself, just ask yourself if you are left with one year to live, who do you want to be around, what do you want to do, where do you want to be, how to you want to spend your remaining days, why do you make such a choice).  

Indeed, without income and a proper job (or even career progression), it will be impossible for me to plan these travels and spend quality time with my mum and family to create such memories.  Do not get me wrong, job and income are definitely important because in reality, money makes the world go round and money can resolve a lot of problems.  However, it is also very true that everyone is dispensable in your jobs, no matter what important position you hold now in your career.  So while chasing your dreams and climbing up your career progression, do remember to take some time and look back at your loved ones and spend some quality time with them (and not just for your child and spouse, but also a gentle reminder to look out for your elderly parents).

On the contrary, Singapore's Minister of Health Mr Ong Ye Kung delivered this speech on 17th July at the Third Global Health Forum held in Beijing, stating that (and may I take it out of context; full text can be read here):

"Economic Impact of Ageing

-     First, there will be an economic imperative for people to work longer. Ageing can become a significant economic drag as the workforce contracts. Many countries, including China and Japan, are already experiencing this. 

-     Fortunately, while people are living longer, they are also getting healthier and fitter. The Chinese saying “人生七十古来稀”, which means it is rare for someone to live until their 70s, luckily no longer holds true. Many people live to their 80s, 90s or even for a century. 

-     We simply have to work further into our lives. We cannot be spending the last one third of our lives not being economically active and eating into our savings. Singapore is therefore planning to raise retirement and re-employment ages to 65 and 70 respectively, by 2030. China is doing the same too.

-     Technology is reducing the need for physical strength which removes the challenges of older people working. Artificial Intelligence can now automate thinking and communications, but at the same time it creates a premium for people good with interpersonal skills which older people also have an advantage."

Fair enough, from the government's point of view, in an aging population, if a large population drop out of the active job market (even with self-sufficient passive income and not relying on any government support schemes), the lack of productivity is not a good thing for the nation.  This is especially so for the CPF system.  When the population ages (longevity risk) and birth rate lowers, in future, the population contributing to the CPF may be much lesser than the population receiving their payouts from CPF.  This eventually may lead to the smaller pool of CPF monies that the government had to work with and will thus either lead to lower payouts for the aged, or higher contribution rates by future generation.  As such, increasing the retirement age and encouraging citizens and permanent residents to work well into 70s will help to alleviate the stress on the system, and also promote active aging.  This is indeed the longer term issue that the government have to face, however on a personal selfish note, I do not wish to work till I die, and in fact I would like to FIRE.  At this point in time, I do not wish to pursue the career ladder (because there is none for me as I am just a self-employed full time tutor) and I am not "entrepreneurial" enough to expand this business, thus I just wish to cherish every possible moment I can have with my family in a well-balanced approach, creating more memories when I still am able to do that.

To end off, after I finished writing this post, I came across this project in Taiwan, called "落日月台Mind The Gap".  It serves to be an immersive theatre experience that allows individuals to experience the feeling of facing death, and probably from there understand what truly matters to you, and from there, be rekindled to live a life with no regrets.  In addition, Malaysian Youtuber BBK Network hosted this discussion about life nearing death, which I find is a very good conclusion to this post.  Nearing the end of life, if possible, experience what you want to experience, and leave with no regrets.  Nonetheless, wishing everyone good health and live a fulfilling life!  Barista FIRE, here I come...!