Being afraid of the process of dying I think is a very natural feeling. Saying goodbye permanently to everyone you know is heartbreaking and we don't really know the amount of pain we will feel when we eventually move through that process.
But again, once it's over, you'll no longer care.
Some things you can do to fight your fear of death...
- Understand that no one escapes
- It is mostly luck to be remembered by a large number of people. You are one in a billion so stop trying to think you need to be Steve Jobs (if you do think that, that is). You will likely, like the rest of us, be remembered by only those close to you.
- In line with that, stop pursuing things you don't enjoy for recognition. It's a bad gamble. If you succeed you'll have recognition (and the odds are very against that). If you fail, you'll have spent time doing something you didn't like anyway. If you do things you enjoy, even if you don't get recognition, you are guaranteed to have enjoyed the time spent exploring them.
- Add to the momentum of human progress, however small your contribution. You are part of all of us moving forward, smashing atoms to advance our knowledge of the universe.
- Savor everything. From the day you were born, your wallet has been open and your money is spilling out. Might as well direct it toward things you enjoy. At the end of your life, whether or not you enjoyed it is entirely up to you and you alone to judge. It is out of everyone else's hands. Keeping that thought of your eventual death close will help you to savor.
- Take in the idea that you are lucky to even be alive. The odds of you being you out of all the sperm in the world are unbelievably against you existing at all. You have the gift of life like you won the lottery and you get to do with it, whatever you want, as do others.
- There is a liberation is believing in no afterlife. No one is watching over your shoulder, judging what you do. Your life is your own and then it's over.
Savor.