To live is Christ...

Some while ago, as I was waking up, the Lord brought to mind Paul's words, "To live is Christ, to die is gain." I had always understood that to mean that it is gain when we die physically (thus entering the "next dimension"). But now...I wonder. I asked the Lord, could the meaning be when we "die", i.e., experiencing death to something needing to go in my life now. Is such a dying, "gain"?
It is something to ponder...