What's your legacy? How do you want others to remember you? Talk about you? What pieces of you will live on?
Your legacy is in question every day and is answered by the meaning and purpose you carry into all your choices.
Only you can define and drive your legacy. The core question is, how has my life mattered? Who and what have I impacted? Thinking about this can inspire you to live in the now, embracing your strengths and values, sharing them with the world.
The only thing you take with you when you're gone is what you leave behind. ~ John Allston
Your legacy isn't simply about success as defined by dollars in a bank account or the size of the home or the trust fund you leave. You don't need to write a book, own a huge company or make a scientific breakthrough to leave a legacy. A legacy isn't a label or title - it's essentially the emotional imprint you leave with others. Any of us who have lost a loved one knows that their legacy wasn't just what they did, but who they were, how they made us feel and the piece that's missing now that they're gone.
Your legacy will probably contain multiple elements and pieces that, when put together, form a whole. You may want to be remembered for changes you implemented in your field of work, the research you conducted and being recognized for mentoring young people, always with a fun spirit and a great sense of humour. You may want to be remembered for being a loving mother and wife whose creativity was seen in an eclectic home and her attention to detail. You may want to be remembered for living life in a calm, peaceful way and whose ability to make your friends and family feel special was always evident. There's no end to how you can shape your legacy, and there's no bigger or better.
What's most poignant about your legacy is that your inner desires, dreams, hopes and passions have a chance to shine. Although there's a focus on leaving something to others, creating a legacy is about living your life, On Purpose, today.
TAKE ACTION:
Begin to explore the idea of a legacy now, to direct and clarify actions. Relish in who you are and what makes you feel alive, and find ways to share yourself. Think about the categories that are most fitting for you: family, friends, career, contribution, community, and so on. What would you like your legacy to be in each area?
Consider the following questions:
Where do you see yourself in one year?
How do you want others to feel about and describe you?
What would you be most proud of?
What will you have to change, stop or keep doing to achieve your legacy?
How will you know you are on the right track?
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