Anyone scared of dying without leaving your mark in human history?

Rozzy85 said:
No. I hate people who will just do it for the sake of being remembered rather than actually doing anything of merit. This usually includes so called celebrities/stars who are famous for nothing. I hate to think how many people's work that has benefited our existence have been forgotten or wrongfully remembered.
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This was an interesting thought after I found out a month or two ago that Lewis Hamilton lived in a council house. Just an average joe. Who then ended up a world champion through the McLaren school and is worth 200 million. With a 40 million salary.

Quite a life to come from living in a council house.
 
I used to worry about not leaving a mark in history and just being insignificant, but now i look it as; if i can change someones life in a positive way, then ill be happy with myself and feel like i've made a change.

You dont have to go down in history to be remembered, just affect someone positively.

That's what works for me atleast :)
 
No point, humans as we know it will meet their demise eventually, just treat the people around you right and leave your own little mark in their lives :)
 
Mickie said:
impossible
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Not impossible but implausible. The atoms that make you are free to become whatever they choose. The problem is that the universe is not infinite so the odds of atoms reforming to form exactly you again are more than the universe has time left. Everything eventually dies even the universe.

The new you would also need to live your life to be you. This person if by miracle it happened simply would not be you.
 
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[FnG]magnolia;24025418 said:
We all leave marks in history even if they're only footnotes.
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Just don't kill the wrong butterfly.

We all impact others during our lives, often quite profoundly without even realising it.
 
You die twice. First your physical death and then the last time someone whispers your name.

I think that quote does make me want to leave a mark but I'm obviously not driven enough to do so.
 
isonomicjedi said:
After my failed suicide attempt I began to wonder if maybe there was a reason for me still being alive and I have tried a few times to start writing a book but I am never happy with the result.
?
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I'm *still* not happy with any of my published books. You know what? Doesn't matter, once you get past that hurdle writing becomes a little easier. Some people like my work so it isn't as bad as I think.

No1newts said:
Good on you.

Out of interest did you self publish the paperback or has someone picked you up?
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Amazon's independent publishing arm. So kind of a mix of self-publishing (as in you have to do most of the work yourself) but with Amazon's backing.
 
isonomicjedi said:
After my failed suicide attempt I began to wonder if maybe there was a reason for me still being alive and I have tried a few times to start writing a book but I am never happy with the result.
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Well, I'm glad you're still with us man. Writing a book takes much, much more work than most people suspect. The only real advice anyone can give you is to keep at it and choose a subject matter that you love.

If you would like to read advice about writing we have a writer's thread poking about here somewhere. :D
 
MOOGLEYS said:
Not impossible but implausible. The atoms that make you are free to become whatever they choose. The problem is that the universe is not infinite so the odds of atoms reforming to form exactly you again are more than the universe has time left. Everything eventually dies even the universe.

The new you would also need to live your life to be you. This person if by miracle it happened simply would not be you.
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Wow, that's a lot of assumptions regarding the concept of "you" / identity, and also the absolute nature of time (at what time does the universe, hence time itself, end?). Also, atoms don't choose.:D
 
LordSplodge said:
I'm *still* not happy with any of my published books. You know what? Doesn't matter, once you get past that hurdle writing becomes a little easier. Some people like my work so it isn't as bad as I think.
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I think there is some merit in Jesse Stewart's comment "Write something to suit yourself and many people will like it; write something to suit everybody and scarcely anyone will care for it.". But I'm more inclined to agree with Leo Rosten when he said "The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can't help it.". :p

As for the original topic, I'm not scared of dying without leaving my mark in human history as I fully expect not to leave a mark comparable to some of the great endeavours of the past. I'm content to carry on with my own little life and if I can affect others positively along the way so much the better but that viewpoint is probably also partly the reason why I'm unlikely to ever be a "great" individual remembered across the world. While it might seem like a nice thought now to be remembered indefinitely at the point where it might matter I'll be dead and therefore I think it doubtful I'll be in a position to care about it. One quote that might be worth considering however you live your life though is "Be fit for more than the thing you are now doing. Let everyone know that you have a reserve in yourself; that you have more power than you are now using. If you are not too large for the place you occupy, you are too small for it." - James A. Garfield.
 
I'm very scared of dying as then I won't have any awareness of anything that happens in the universe so effectively (from my perspective) it ceases to exist.

In terms of leaving my mark I do sometimes wonder whether given the fact that I am probably a third of the way into my life whether I should cease just trying to gain simple pleasures to try and do something more groundbreaking - although as I say once I'm dead I won't have any awareness of any legacy I could leave anyway.
 
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