By Dr. Laura Hills, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com
Most of us want to be remembered for something positive after we are gone.That’s because the personal and professional legacy we leave behind for future generations serves for many of us as a kind of immortality.Our enduring legacy gives each us a way to create something or to influence people while we are alive so that we can endure, even long after we die. Most of us find that idea quite attractive. However, it can be challenging to craft and ensure our legacy when we’re caught up in day-to-day concerns. Legacy thinking requires bigger-picture thinking, and everyday concerns can easily derail us.
The time to start thinking about your legacy is right now. In fact, you can’t wait until your life is almost over to start thinking about your legacy – not if that legacy is ambitious and requires a lot of effort. Carve out some time soon to think about what you want your life to have meant when you’re gone. To what purpose can you devote yourself so that what you work on now and the days ahead lasts longer than you do? Then, make it your life’s mission to ensure and fulfill that legacy. Do this, and your life will be purposeful, fulfilling, and meaningful not only to you, but to the many people who will benefit from your legacy after you’re gone. Does legacy thinking seem morbid to you? It isn’t. It can actually be very uplifting. Try it and see.