Friedrich Nietzsche’s question: What if you were to live the identical life again and again throughout eternity – how would that change you?

“The thought of living your identical life again and again for all eternity can be jarring, a sort of petite existential shock therapy. It often serves as a sobering thought experiment, leading you to consider seriously how you are really living. Like the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, it increases your awareness that this life, your only life, should be lived well and fully, accumulating a few regrets as possible. Nietzsche thus serves as a guide leading us away from the preoccupation with trivial concerns to the goal of living vitally.”  – Irvin D. Yalom (from the book, “Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Dread of Death”)