How do you want people to remember you?

My Aunt Barbara died this week, which touched me deeper in my core than I had anticipated.  Not only was I struck with sadness and tears, but her death provoked me to think about the life she lived and what she offered to others.  Barbara was a wonderfully fun woman, who was relaxed and seemed to take life in stride.  She had a lot of class, loved children and potato chips.  She was nurturing, loved gardening and stayed married to the same man for 61 years!  She also gave me my long-time nickname of Jilly Bean, which has now been thankfully shortened to Jilly!

As I read her obituary, which is often the only written account of our lives, I wondered what I might want mine to say.  How do I want people to remember me?

In these busy times where we are running from thing to thing—whether it be for personal and/or professional reasons—I doubt we'd want our obituaries to read, "She drove a great looking SUV, fed her kids dinner in the car in between work and soccer practice, worked out…." You get the picture.  I think all of us are striving for significance in some way, yet might be missing the mark.  It all depends on what your definition of significance is.

In my coaching practice, I am meeting more and more women who want to figure out their life purpose and how to make their mark.  I often suggest an exercise to help get them started.  List the people you admire and why.  If you do this, it helps you get to the core of how you want to make your mark.  By looking at the characteristics of those you admire, you will see how and what you most want to contribute to yourself, family, community, and society.

So, how do you want people to remember you? 

Jill Personius