How Thinking About Death Can Lead to a Good Life

Thinking about death can actually be a good thing. An awareness of mortality can improve physical health and help us re-prioritize our goals and values, according to a new analysis of recent scientific studies. Even non-conscious thinking about death – say walking by a cemetery – could prompt positive changes and promote helping others.  

Past research suggests that thinking about death is destructive and dangerous, fueling everything from prejudice and greed to violence. "There has been very little integrative understanding of how subtle, day-to-day, death awareness might be capable of motivating attitudes and behaviors that can minimize harm to oneself and others, and can promote well-being," says Kenneth Vail of the University of Missouri, lead author of the study in the online edition of Personality and Social Psychology Review this month.