What is your philosophy of life?

A philosophy of life means a mental framework for understanding how the world works and how you fit into it. It would include how you decide what is good and bad, what you mean with "success" and "purpose," whether there is a God, etc.

You may feel that you could summarize your philosophy of life with labels such as Libertarian, Feminist, Liberal, Conservative, Buddhist, Christian, Entrepreneur, and others. But our actual philosophies of life are more complex and not so quickly contained.

• The True North Group: You have a compass for life and know which direction is the correct way. When asked about your philosophy of life, you could explain it immediately and concisely.
• The Dusty Compass Group: You have a compass for directing your life, but you don't always know how to use it. You may have a loosely organized philosophy but may not use it to filter and direct your experience.
• The Inbox Group: You may not have a compass. Life may be about something, but you don't know. Your approach is to deal with life the way you manage email: You are just directing your attention to whatever lands in your inbox.

The difference between the members of these three groups is internal. You won't be able to spot them instantly.

In general, it is better to live as a member of the True North group, provided you remain humble, curious, and open to the possibility you may be wrong.

If you are in the Dusty Compass Group or the Inbox Group, a brush of near-death has a way of improving your philosophy of life. You may be jolted into living on purpose and make it count. In the face of mortality, we think hard about what matters. But, as the weeks and months pass, you may drift back to distraction. Without the vivid orienting direction of a clear philosophy of life, it becomes easy to do whatever's easiest instead of living the way you'd want your obituaries to read.

That's why reflecting every now and again on the reality of death is a good thing to do to make the most of the reality of life.