Writing the Final Chapter of Our Lives

We are all authors of our own lives.

Every decision we make, every path we choose—these become the chapters of our story. Some chapters are exciting, some are uncertain, and some we wish we could rewrite. But one thing is certain: there will come a time when we must face and write our final chapter.

And yet, most of us avoid thinking about it.

We often say, “I don’t want to be a burden to others.” It sounds responsible, even noble. But if we are honest, the reality is more complex. In our final years, there may be things we simply cannot manage alone—daily routines, financial matters, or even attending medical treatments. Dependence, in one form or another, may be inevitable.

Speaking personally, I do not have children or close relatives to rely on. My journey is closely tied to my wife—my life partner. Most likely, our final chapters will be written side by side.

But this brings an important question.

How do two people plan for an ending together?

Will we be fortunate enough to move through life at the same pace, reaching the final chapter in sync? Or will life unfold differently for each of us—leaving one to continue writing while the other’s story has already concluded?

Life is not a perfectly scripted story. It does not guarantee a neat, synchronised ending.

And that is exactly why this matters.

The final chapter will come, whether we are prepared or not. But starting early gives us something powerful—the ability to shape it.

When we begin thinking about it sooner, we create space to reflect, to plan, and to make adjustments. We can put structures in place, have difficult conversations, and make thoughtful decisions while we still have clarity and control.

In a way, it is like writing a manuscript.
We draft, we review, we refine.

We cannot control everything, but we can influence how the story unfolds.

This is not about being pessimistic.
It is about being intentional.

Because in the end, a well-considered final chapter is not just about how our story ends—it is a meaningful gift to the person who shares that story with us.

And perhaps, that is one of the most important chapters we will ever write. 

Research Insight in 3 minute

Research Insight in 3 minute

I find research work is insightful, but not all research topic is inspiring. These are some of the studies that I think are worth mentioning:

Mindfulness vs Motivation (updated on 23/7/2019)

• Professor Hafenbrack interviewed by Havard Business Review in the Jan-Feb 2019 (issue #97 volume 1) concluded that Mindfulness is demotivating. In his research, meditators' motivation level was about 10% lower than the level of the people who had not practiced mindfulness. However, he reported that despite lower motivational level, the samples in the mindful group completed their assigned tasks on par with others, and equally well. 

• Based on the above, can we conclude that less motivated employees may still perform as well as those who are highly motivated, as long as they meditate and practice mindfulness? Does this mean mindfulness is correlated to performance? or perhaps, are mindful people are more effective at work? There are still many unanswered questions on mindfulness but this is enough to put on our thinking cap and start investigating for more insights.

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Personality Traits: Materialism

Some people are so motivated to achieve their goals or desire on certain things or purposes. I belief the individual personality plays an important role to determine the level of motivation.

Gucci at Old Bond Street, Mayfair, London

I was aspired by the dedication of these people when in London few years back.  The personality trait like materialism tend to motivates these people to be so dedicated, despite of cold weather and many hours of standing. Their need to own something from Gucci was so overwhelming that they are willing to sacrifice their opportunity cost and compliance to the queuing. How good if these people can make use of this personality trait to achieve greater goals in life, work or study. If these people can spend hours to queue on a boxing day just to get into Gucci because of 'Sales', why many of us always complaint about not enough time, no patient to wait and queue why driving or getting into the train?

In front of The Claridges, Brook St, London.

Well, its easy to say than done. Perhaps, everyone of us have more than one personality traits and in different situation, desire can change our behaviour. Many other factors could contribute to individual rationality.

Hence, the more we understand our inner self and the social influences, the better we can manage our behaviour to the utmost benefits; not just ourself but to people around us. Again, it is easy to say than done.

The secret to success - intellectual knowledge and rationalisation.

By the way, I didn't joint the queue on boxing day.Check out the date date of the picture, it was before Christmas!  I am not against those in the queue but I am just not that type of personality.