Compounding Daily
Do you feel stuck? Uninspired? Stagnant? The Compounding Daily podcast hosted by Miguel Sanchez, aims to spark curiosity and drive. Each episode gives you deep insights on how to cultivate healthy habits, practice discipline, change your perspective of life, and restructure your mindset in a way that promotes small changes in your daily life that will compound to help you earn that 1% needed everyday to reach your goals, whether they be physical, mental, or both.
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Compounding Daily
EP130 – In moments of difficulty, meditate on your impermanence.
Lets us know your thoughts thru TEXT!
The paradox of contemplating death is that it breathes vivid, urgent life into our everyday experience.
While most people avoid thinking about mortality, I’ve discovered it to be my greatest source of motivation and perspective.
The very thing I once feared most—my own mortality—became the catalyst that transformed my life. When you truly grasp how fleeting our time is, everything changes. Monday morning dread, workplace drama, and petty grievances suddenly shrink into proper perspective. The shift is immediate—and powerful.
What if tomorrow never comes?
Would you want your last interaction with a loved one to be filled with anger? Would you choose to spend your final day dwelling on gossip or nurturing resentments?
Meditation on impermanence isn’t morbid—it’s clarifying. It strips away the noise and reveals what truly matters. There’s a saying: Everyone dies twice—once when the body fails, and again when your name is spoken for the final time. This awareness calls us to live with purpose and seek meaning beyond our physical existence.
The gift of understanding our impermanence is that it transforms each day from something ordinary into something precious. I challenge you to sit with this perspective, even briefly, and notice how it changes your priorities and interactions.
There’s no faster way to quiet the negative mind than to remind yourself how short your time here truly is.
Think about that. Meditate on that.
And together, let’s get better.
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Miguel:@m_sanchezvillafane
Email: Compoundingdailypodcast@gmail.com
Hello, hello and welcome back everybody to Compounding Daily. I'm your host, miguel Sanchez, and welcome back to another episode, episode 130. I'm extremely grateful to be here. I thank you for spending some time with me here, for setting some time aside to be in a position where my goal is simply to give you some form of value, a different form of perspective, a different idea, never telling you what to do, but telling you what I'm doing and why it works for me, in hopes that it can do the same, or more, for you. So I always start, especially as of late, saying thank you, thank you for being here. I am extremely grateful.
Speaker 1:With that being said, another solo episode. As I said before, I haven't been even taking the time to think of a guest. With so much happening in my personal life and these little solo episodes, whether they're 10 or 20 minutes long, it's always a good weight off my shoulder because sometimes there's a lot of things that I carry in my mind and a form of decompression is being able to vent those emotions and perspectives out. Most of it some struggles or some victories. Regardless, it just feels good to take things out from inside and speak it into the world, especially when the goal is to help anybody and everybody out. With that being said, before we get into today's episode.
Speaker 1:Today's episode is going to be very short, but I always like to start with a reminder, the reminder that Monday morning is the hardest day for most people, myself included, for most of my life, and it's not necessarily because Monday is a bad day, but because of the perspective that I chose to entertain. For a long time was one of Monday sucks. I don't want to be here, I don't want to go to work. I'm tired, I'm exhausted. I'd rather stay home.
Speaker 1:The weekend went by too fast, and if you wake up on Monday morning and those are the conversations that you are having with yourself, understand that you are setting yourself up for failure. You're putting yourself in a position where it's gonna be difficult for you to show up with a good attitude. And it's not because the day was against you, but because you allowed those negative conversations from within to take control of your thoughts and from there your actions scream I don't wanna be here. I'm tired, I'm exhausted, I have a bad attitude, and most people don't like to hear this. But an attitude is a choice, and just because you feel like you should have a shitty one doesn't mean that that's what you have to present to the world. So, with that being said, sure, it's Monday, but remind yourself that every day brings with it an opportunity for you to get, even if just a tiny bit, a little bit better, that 1% that I always talk about.
Speaker 1:And, with that being said, today's episode is gonna be interesting, at least for me. It's not something that I speak about often, and I am grateful to be able to put it into these words, because it allows me to paint a picture that maybe you don't understand, or maybe you just don't see at the moment, and today's subject is death right, a conversation about our impermanence and how to make it useful for you. And yes, you heard that right death and a reminder of your impermanence. Chances are, if you're listening to this, you already read the title, and the title is very simple In moments of difficulty, meditate on your impermanence. Understand something when your mind takes control of you, when your mind says, hey, I don't want to be here, I'm tired, life is hard, life is against you, your family sucks, your friends suck, you're not happy with your career, when your mind starts painting all these problems for you, where do you go, and I don't mean physically, but mentally.
Speaker 1:What do you do with that conversation? Do you sit in it and agree with it, which is actually in reference to having a good attitude or have you leveled yourself up to a point where you can observe the conversation and see how it's making you feel? Because that is a point that I believe, personally, anybody and everybody could get to, and the reason I value and I mean value this so much is because a lot of people in today's world simply avoid the conversation of death. They don't wanna think about it. It's scary, oh no death, nobody knows when it's coming up. And I like to think about it. It's scary, oh no death, nobody knows when it's coming up. And I like to think of it from a different approach. If you believe in God, if you believe in God being ever abundant, if you believe that life and mother nature were created beautiful, and the trees and the flowers and the air and the water and the birds and the trees, and all of that is just stunningly beautiful why do we paint such a negative picture when it comes to death? If it came from the same source? Sit with that, right.
Speaker 1:That was an initial question for me, because I used to fear the idea of taking risks. I used to fear the idea of putting myself in uncomfortable situations, especially when some of them are physical, you know, pushing my body to its limits, doing things that I may tell myself, like man, this could kill me or this can harm me, or this could put me in a place where I am now injured and not able to perform to the best of my ability, and I've had those conversations with me. But here's where the beauty comes in. There is no faster way to quiet your negative mind than to remind yourself of how short of a time you truly have here. I'll read that again. I'll read that again because I wrote that in my little notes. I'll read that again so you can sit with that and ponder on that. There is no faster way to take away energy from the negative mind than to simply remind yourself of how short of a time you truly have here.
Speaker 1:Chances are, if you're listening to this and if my demographic stats are factual, then you are between your mid-20s to late-30s within that range, and chances are, if you're listening to this, you are at that point where you feel as if time is passing you by. You're watching your friends have children, your friends are getting married, you might be getting married, you might be having children or already have children, and you tell yourself, oh my God, I have a baby. And then you blink and you have a toddler. And then you blink and you have a six year old. And then you blink and you have a teenager. And Most people don't take the days from a perspective of appreciation that allows them to be with themselves and say you know, man, at any moment, at any given moment as we speak here, I can be taken away.
Speaker 1:My heart can stop. An accident can happen, the roof collapse, an earthquake swallows me to the ground, you don't know. And the roof collapsed, an earthquake swallows me to the ground, you don't know. And when you keep that perspective in mind, you'll come to realize that the problems that are causing you anxiety and making you have fear towards the future and placing you in a position where you're afraid to take risk because you're afraid of death, that very fear could be the very thing that reminds you as to why you should do the things that you don't want to do, why you should take the risk, why these little, what I call minuscule problems should not be the dominating energy of your life.
Speaker 1:Bills, who said, what about who? Gossip, drama, spreading poison, work drama you don't want to be there, whatever the case may be. Sure, we all and I mean all have some form of displeasure in our life, but I've come to experience that when, in my moments of difficulty, I catch myself stressing, I catch my heart rate going up, I catch myself creating exaggerating images in my head of what may happen, and then it never really happens. But you get the drift. I'm in a position of anxiety and fear. I simply remind myself why are you stressing yourself out over this? What's the worst case scenario here? It's not going to kill me. It may make me uncomfortable, but it may not be the end of me, and that's a perspective and approach. And then the perspective that I like to entertain the most is this one super simple what if tomorrow never comes? What if this is it for me?
Speaker 1:And I spent my last day worrying about gossip, about other people, drama in the workplace, my bills and all of these things that sure are important in my life. The bills have to be paid. I need food on my stomach, I need clothes on my. I need all of those things I'm not saying to don't put value on those things, but what I'm saying is when you come to think of it, when you look at the statistics that say your average person in today's world is living to be 76, and then you sit here and you're listening to this and you're between your 25s and your 30s and you tell yourself, oh, I have a lot of time. But do you really? Because I remember being 13, 14, telling myself, man, I can't wait to graduate high school, and that was over a decade ago, and I don't know where the time went. I do know where the time went because now I track everything. But you understand what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:I spent so many years harvesting negativity, holding it in, reminding myself like, oh, I don't want to do this, I'm scared to do this, I'm afraid of this person's opinions, I'm afraid of what this is going to look like, even this, what I'm doing. Now I might sit here and tell myself, wow, like what if this episode just sucks and nobody listens to it? And then I remind myself, what if this is the very episode somebody needs? What if you are providing value for somebody in your life and you don't know when you're going to be taken away and you don't put out that energy, you don't take action. You remain the same because of fear.
Speaker 1:When you meditate on your impermanence, you're reminding yourself of this gift called life. You're reminding yourself that, even though God is abundant and beautiful and has everything that you ever desire, at any moment he can also decide to take that away. That's not within our control. We don't control sickness, we don't control our health. I mean, we control our health, but you know God forbid. But if I wake up tomorrow with cancer, I promise you I won't be upset. Why? Because I didn't give it to myself. It's out of my control. It's in the same category as death. Right, I would be sad, scared, of course, but I wouldn't be sitting there questioning why it's happening to me. The same way, I would never question death. That perspective allows me to appreciate my days every single day. It allows me to show up with a good attitude. It allows me to appreciate my days every single day. It allows me to show up with a good attitude. It allows me to spend more time doing the things that bring me to life instead of the things that I used to do just to fill up time gaps.
Speaker 1:When you meditate on your impermanence. You remind yourself that you are alive. You remind yourself that you may have purpose. You remind yourself that you are alive. You remind yourself that you may have purpose. You remind yourself that, despite it all, at any second it can be taken away. And for that very reason and what other reason do you need to take action to become better, to earn that 1%?
Speaker 1:Death is the subject mainly frowned upon. The idea of dying is the very thing that started my journey. I was physically here. Spiritually and mentally I was already dead. I've already accepted defeat. I was already waiting for my heart to stop. I was looking forward to it, because I created so much misery in my own mind that I was over it. I was tired of it all. That was just me seven years ago. Nothing has changed drastically. I'm still the same guy. Sure, I lost a few pounds, I read a few books, but at the end of the day, the conversation happening with myself and about the things that I consider important has changed, and death was at the top of those conversations.
Speaker 1:I don't want to do that.
Speaker 1:What if I die? I don't want to do that. What if I fell? I don't want to do that. I don't want to waste my time doing that. You know what do you want to do instead, miguel? I want to just sit in front of my TV all day and play video games and smoke my weed and do nothing. Just day after day passing me by, week after week passing me by. And where did that lead me? To? A place fulfillment 289 pounds, high blood pressure, cholesterol through the roof, pre-diabetic. My neck was turning black. All the symptoms were present to tell me hey, I know how much you fear death, but you don't understand how close you'll be coming to it by just choosing to ignore the fact that that trigger can be pulled at any second. That thought alone changed my life.
Speaker 1:I don't want to reach death whenever it may come, and have the thoughts of man. I wish I did. I may say man, I wish I had more time. But what if I'm already 89? Then maybe I don't want more time. I'm already kind of over it. I've lived right. But there's no reason why, in my 20s and 30s, I should be looking forward to it because I lack purpose in my life. I should be looking forward to it because I lack purpose in my life and the reminder that every single gift, every single day, excuse me comes in the form of a gift. That is a perspective. You can wake up and say every single day brings with it misery and sorrow, and guess what? That's what you will look for and that's what you will see. Life will just confirm that for you.
Speaker 1:But if you tell yourself today's gonna be a good day, Today I'm gonna entertain a good attitude, today I remind myself of my impermanence. I remind myself that before I leave my house, angry with my wife and slam the door, I don't do that. But, for example, right, I remind myself that this could be my last time stepping out of this door. I may die at work, I might die at the red light down the street, I might get hit in the highway, I might lose control, and I don't want that last conversation to be me storming out in anger. So what do I do instead? I remind myself of my impermanence and I remind myself that if, at any moment, this could be taken away from me, what would I like to have done, at least that day? And that changes my actions. Now I drive a little safer. Now I remind my wife that I love her and I cherish her and I appreciate her, despite the argument we might be having.
Speaker 1:When you meditate on your impermanence from a perspective of positivity, you turn off your negative mind. You remind yourself that it matters little, that two, three hundred years from now, most won't remember your name. There's a saying that everybody dies two deaths, and it's your physical death, and your second death is when the last person who was fond of you says your name for the last time. And after they pass, you are no longer even part of history, just another box in the ground with a slab. So when you think about it like that, don't you want to live with purpose? Doesn't that put into perspective like, wow, if at any moment this could be taken away.
Speaker 1:I better show up. I better get better. I better leave something for the people that are coming after me. I better give myself intention. I better have a plan. Reminding yourself of your impermanence allows your mind to, instead of focusing in the negative side of life, you remind yourself that it is a gift and from that gift you get to live. That is a choice that you have. So I'll say it with this and I'll end it with this. There is no faster way to quiet the negative mind than to remind yourself of how short of a time you truly have here. Think about that, meditate on that and together let's get better.
