Anambra State Government Reiterates Directive On Tenant Documentation Fees

By Emeka Chiaghanam

             Hands holding ticking clock, symbolising urgency with one year to live mindset.

Let’s say you’re sitting in a doctor’s office. The smell of disinfectant stings your nose. The room’s too white, too quiet. The clock ticks like it’s mocking you. Then the words drop, heavy and unforgiving: “You have one year left.”

Your breath catches. The noise in your brain goes silent. Just like that, life, as you knew it, folds in on itself.

Would you still care about the number of followers on your Instagram?
Would you keep grinding through that job you hate, just for a paycheck?
Would you still keep quiet about the things that set your soul on fire?

Probably not.

The Clock Is Ticking — Now What?

Here’s the thing: none of us knows exactly how much time we’ve got. Yet we live like we’re invincible, stockpiling plans for a future we assume we’ll reach.

But what if we didn’t?

What if you had only one year, 365 days, to live fully, deeply, unapologetically?

This isn’t a “live every day like it’s your last” cliché. This is more like... strip everything down to the bones and ask: What actually matters?

1. Relationships Over Rituals

Let’s be real, we often treat the people we love like background noise.

We assume our partner knows we love them.
We postpone visits to mum and dad because we’re “just too busy.”
We let friendships fade because we can’t be bothered to reply to that message.

But if you had only a year left, you’d suddenly want to hold every hug a little longer. You’d listen to people without checking your phone. You’d call your grandma just to hear her laugh again.

Because when the countdown begins, connection outweighs everything. According to a Harvard Study of Adult Development (which followed people for over 80 years), the number one predictor of long-term happiness and health wasn’t money, fame, or career. It was close, meaningful relationships.

Not just having people around you — but feeling truly seen and loved by them.

So maybe the goal isn’t to be “known by many,” but “known deeply by a few.”

2. Doing What Sets Your Soul on Fire

Quick question: If your life were a movie, would you pay to watch it?

Tough one, right?

Most of us spend years on autopilot — waking up, going to jobs that drain us, smiling through things we hate, just trying to “get by.”

But in the face of a ticking clock, survival mode wouldn’t be enough. You’d start chasing what actually lights you up.

That art project you never started?
That bakery you dreamed of opening?
That book idea tucked in your journal?

You’d stop caring about what people think and start doing what makes you feel alive.

Author Bronnie Ware, who worked in palliative care, wrote a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. Guess what #1 was?

“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

Ouch.

Let that one settle in.

3. Letting Go of Grudges, Fast

If you've ever clung to a grudge like it was oxygen, you’re not alone. It feels powerful to hold someone accountable in your mind — to replay the hurt, to keep score.

But dying changes the scoreboard.

You’d realise the energy you spent resenting could’ve been spent loving, or laughing, or simply being.

Imagine sitting under the evening sun, breeze soft against your skin, knowing you’ve forgiven, not for them, but for you. You’d feel lighter. Cleaner inside.

Psychologists say that people who forgive report higher well-being and lower depression. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

So, maybe today’s a good day to release what’s poisoning you.

4. Time Becomes Sacred

We waste so much time.

Scrolling. Complaining. Overthinking.
Waiting for perfect.

If you had one year left, you’d stop waiting.

You’d drink your coffee slowly, noticing the aroma — that bittersweet, earthy swirl.
You’d watch the sky bleed from orange to lavender at dusk, just because.
You’d walk barefoot in the grass, feel the earth hum beneath you.

Time would become sacred. And the mundane would feel holy.

Even now — without a terminal diagnosis — it is sacred. We just forget.

5. The Fear of Embarrassment Would Vanish

Let’s say you’ve always wanted to dance. But you're worried you’ll look silly. People might laugh.

If you had a year, would you still care?

Probably not. You’d dance. You’d sing terribly. You’d tell people you love them first. You’d write that weird poem and post it online. You’d wear orange just because you love it, even if it doesn’t match your skin tone.

You’d stop being owned by fear.

What if you could do that now?

6. The Desire for Simplicity Would Take Over

Strangely, when death feels near, life becomes simple.

You wouldn’t care about chasing trends or impressing strangers. You’d crave less noise, less stuff, less pressure. More sunsets, more family dinners, more long walks and handwritten letters.

You’d realise most of what you chased never really mattered. The stuff you thought you needed — status, hustle, perfection — was just smoke.

What stays?
The sound of your child’s laughter.
The warmth of your lover’s hand.
The quiet joy of being still and alive.

7. The Present Would Become Your Home

Let’s be honest, we rarely live in the now.

We’re stuck in yesterday’s wounds or tomorrow’s to-do list. But if time was short, you’d stop time-travelling. You’d feel the now. You’d live in it.

You’d notice the way butter melts on hot bread.
The crackle of firewood.
The smell of rain on dry soil.

Mindfulness would stop being a buzzword and start being a survival instinct.

According to Stanford researchers, being present, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally, improves well-being and reduces anxiety. Makes sense, doesn’t it? The future becomes less scary when you stop obsessing over it.

8. You’d Want to Leave Something That Outlives You

Now this part’s not about legacy in the grand, ego-driven way.

It’s about meaning.

You’d ask yourself: How can I make someone else’s life better, even just a little?

Maybe you’d write a letter your child could read at 25.
Or volunteer at a shelter.
Or teach your neighbour’s kid how to ride a bike.

You’d crave significance. Not applause.

Leaving behind a piece of your heart, not your brand.

9. You’d Realise That “Success” Was Never the Point

Let’s say you do everything “right.” Big job, big house, big car. But you never felt joy. Never danced in your kitchen. Never cried from laughing too hard. Never told your best friend how much they saved you.

Was it worth it?

Success, at its core, should feel like peace, not pressure.

In the face of mortality, your definition would shift. It wouldn’t be about your LinkedIn profile. It’d be about your life profile. How you showed up. Who you loved. What you left behind in hearts, not hard drives.

So, What Now?

If you’re still here, breathing, reading, feeling, you don’t have just one year.

(Or maybe you do. Who knows?)

But that’s not the point.

The point is: you still have now.

Right now is bursting with possibility, to forgive, to try, to laugh, to connect, to finally live like time is precious.

Because it is.

And if you’re waiting for a doctor to tell you how much time you have, you’ve already waited too long.

Try This Today

Want to live like the clock is ticking (because, spoiler: it is)?

Here are five small steps:

1.      Call someone you love. Just say hi. No agenda.

2.     Do one thing that makes you feel alive. Write. Paint. Dance. Scream-sing Beyoncé.

3.     Forgive someone. Or at least start the process.

4.     Notice one beautiful thing. The way your dog breathes when he sleeps. The clouds. Your own hand, still strong.

5.     Write down what really matters. Your core truths. Tape them to your wall. Look at them daily.

We spend so much time preparing for life that we forget to live it.

So, if this article were your sign, this is it.

Don’t just exist. Live.
Live raw. Live clumsy. Live loudly.
Live in such a way that even if your story ends tomorrow, you’ll know, you truly showed up.

And honestly, isn’t that what really matters?