If You Were The Last Person on Earth…Would You Still Do It?

Apply this question to anything and everything you do.

My 30-minute walk turned into a 90-minute walk today. I wanted to finish “The War of Art” and it was nice out.

When I set out, it was 95 degrees. By the time I returned home, with the sun down, it had cooled down to 80.

And I was left with two main questions:

1. If I found out I was going to die next week, what would I do?

And…

1. If I were the last person on earth, what would I do?

The first question I answered in a post a few months back. And while I’m certain my answer would be very different today, I don’t feel like revisiting it at the moment.

It’s that whole idea of “would you work late or would you go hang out with your kids?” And I just don’t feel like exploring it right now.

I’m more curious about that second question.

The way Steven Pressfield explains it is this: artists don’t seek the good opinion of others. Doing their art is enough to bring them back to their center.

So if Arnold Schwarzenegger were the last person on earth…he’d still work out. If Stevie Wonder were the last person on earth, he’d still play piano.

Those were Pressfield’s examples.

Here’s one from me: if Celine Dion were the last person on earth…she’d still sing.

Basically…if you were the last person on earth, there’d be no one left to impress. And you would only do those things that sustain you.

So what would you do if you were the last person on earth?

This question is not meant to make you think of the apocalypse; its purpose is to remove the opinions we so often cling to.

It goes back to what I wrote yesterday about congruence with your inner self. Doing what YOU need to do. Not what others want you to do.

The thing that centers you and nourishes you.

So if what you do involves other people (for example, if you’re a coach), then “being the last person on earth” is just a metaphor for “no one to impress.”

I don’t think it’s surprising that one of the first things I thought of was writing.

The other thing that came up for me…I’ll have to consider a bit more:

Walking.

I thought, “If I were the last person on earth, I’d walk around a lot.”

I’ve wondered in the past if there might be something I could do (for work) that would involve walking or hiking. I’ve always loved being in nature. Walking in nature.

I’d likely play music.

Pick fruits and eat them.

But maybe those sorts of things aren’t really what Pressfield meant.

The real question is this: is the life work I’m doing the right work?

Am I doing what I’m doing because of others’ opinions? Am I not doing something I should be doing because of others’ opinions?

So I suppose the hard part is looking at all the things I do and asking that question.

“Would I still do that thing?”

And then looking at what you haven’t been doing and asking, “Would I start?”