Who do you want to be?

Going through some old notes recently I found an exercise that I did for a course a while back. The exercise was to write your own eulogy, twice. The first eulogy is for you, now. The second eulogy would be given in a number of years’ time, assuming you live a long life and die of old age. Next, compare the two eulogies. How are you tracking? Is there an alignment or a disconnect between your life now and how you want to be remembered?

When the exercise is done honestly, it can be very confronting. There is a huge variety of ways that people want to be remembered. Some people want to be remembered for serving others through volunteering with charities or work in the church. Some people want to be remembered for their successful business or writing a book or a song. Other people want to be remembered for being someone who could always make other people laugh or who others would turn to in times of crisis.

There are also just as many ways that people don’t want to be remembered. Always at work and never at home with the family. Self-centred and demanding. Lazy, never quite reaching  their potential. Leaving behind a pile of bad debts.

So, who do you want to be?

It’s up to you. If you’ve got changes to make, make them. You are who you choose to be.