To Kierkegaard the ultimate goal of life is reaching the stage of religion. To enter the religious stage one must first pass through the aesthetic and the ethical stage. It isn't until they finally reach the religious stage that they achieve eternal happiness. Nietzsche on the other hand believed in living in the present and celebrating life.
To defend Kierkegaard's point: Belief in a higher being is what gets a lot of people through any dark time in their lives. Like the example from class, a man holding on to a branch is going to die, unless there's a miracle, the branch will probably eventually break but that submission to faith and trust in God is what makes life better at the moment. Coming to accept death makes life at the moment easier this is similar Nietzsche's belief in living life for the present.
To defend Nietzsche's point: What if there is no God? You wasted your whole life living the life a God that never existed told you to live. Wouldn't you be much happier making the most of the time you had on earth in case there is no salvation? Death is inevitable part of life and I don't think Nietzsche would argue against that but it seems more rational to enjoy life then constantly think of death in hopes of finally gaining happiness that can't be guaranteed.
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