I just finished reading a eulogy written by a close friend of my father’s. He knew my dad for over 50 years. He included so many memories of my father that it made me feel so heartwarming yet sad. I thought his eulogy made my eulogy sound like I didn’t even know my Dad that well. I’m sure his memory of my dad is different from mine.
After reading his eulogy, I started thinking: how will I be remembered by my friends and family?
At first, my answer to the first question was something along the lines of being remembered as somebody who tried to make people laugh and serve others.
Then I asked myself – how would I want to be remembered?
I had to take a walk around my neighborhood to really let that question marinate in my head. As I was walking, I was listing out the ways in which I wanted to be remembered:
- To be a good story teller
- To be a good mentor
- To be a good father
- To be a good teacher (somewhat related to the second point)
Some part of me realized that I wasn’t focused on doing any of those things. None of those things were in my intentions when I set my daily, weekly, or monthly goals.
So when I got back home, I told myself – I need to starting making these things I want to be remembered for a part of my goals or at least reasons for why I set my goals.
Life is short, as my father’s passing showed me. So, I’m starting now. I may die tomorrow but at least I’ll know that I tried my best to start living in a way that I can be a good story teller, mentor, father, and teacher.
In some way, this is tied to the last post because identifying how you will be remembered right now and how you want to be remembered can help you find your ‘why’ when you face tough times. Just some perspective that came to me while writing this post.
Let me know in the comments how you want to be remembered. I’d love to read them.
