ExclusiveYou’re writing the stories people will tell about you with your daily choices

Welcome to Epoch Insights, my name is Tiffany Brannan. There's an article in the Mind and Body section of the Epoch Times called How Do You Want to Be Remembered? And it brings up the interesting point that each person, every day of his life, is writing his own legacy. The article ends with the point, the question isn't whether you'll leave a legacy, you will. The question is, what kind of legacy are you crafting today? Going back to the beginning of the article, the author says that she thinks about the fact that one day her children will tell stories about her to their own children. Her friends and family, even people whose paths she briefly crosses, may share stories about her. What will they say? It's not a question we often stop to consider in the hustle of daily life, yet it's an interesting one and it's that thread that weaves together the story of who we are, etched in the hearts of others. I know some tests you do, personality tests, or what character are you, will ask questions like how would your friends describe you, and then list smart, witty, pretty, whatever it may be. I always find that an interesting question and I have to stop and think about it. It's like, hmm, what would my friends say about me? I know what I think about myself, but what do others think about you? You have to ask them, and also which friend are you asking? Because all too often, we're not really sure what others think about us or what kind of legacy we're leaving. The author says that she hopes to be remembered as someone with the courage to be authentic and the strength to choose the freedom of forgiveness. Now authenticity isn't always easy, especially when we feel like we're not enough. She describes how everything we see around us encourages us to compare and feel inferior, and we're all trying to find some kind of unattainable perfection, which leads us to feel somehow inferior or insufficient. And she said it took her years to at least to stop tracing the elusive good enough, because she always felt like she never could feel worthy. But there's always another finish line if that's what you're trying to achieve. But deep down, embracing who you are, not an idealized version of yourself, but who you truly are right now, allows your authentic self to shine. Because the world may forget polished performances, but it remembers a heart that was genuine. And of course that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to make the most of ourselves, but it mainly means to not get so caught up in what we aren't or who we aren't or what we haven't done that we can't appreciate and embrace what we are, who we are, and what we have accomplished and are accomplishing. By the same token, she wants to be courageous and bold. So she asks the question, when was the last time you tried something new simply because it excited you? Children are unafraid to leap into the unknown oftentimes because maybe they haven't had the experience to know of the dangers that lurk outside. But they don't stop to ask, am I qualified, what if I fail? They just leap and they trust. Even as we become wise and prudent, we should never lose that courage, that bravery, that ability to leap into something that we love, or even if it's something that's difficult or frightening because it can be the beginning of a new chapter of your life. For instance, after she wrote her first book, the author did a guest speaking engagement with Joel Salatin, who's a legendary voice in regenerative farming. And she didn't feel like she did a good job at all on this presentation. But Joel turned to her and said, you just thoroughly impressed me. Now in that moment, taking that bit of courage she had from his kind compliment, she asked, do you want to write a book together? He smiled and said yes. And that single decision changed her life because the book would lead to a podcast they co-host and speaking gigs around the country. So she hopes that her legacy will inspire others to leap. And the third thing that she hopes her legacy will show is forgiveness, because she came to realize that forgiveness isn't just not being angry with someone or letting go of something that they did to you. It can also be forgiving someone for not being what you wanted him to be. She realized that she had resentment not just about what had happened, about misplaced expectation. She had expected someone to be a certain way, to act a certain way, or to love or support her in a way she needed. And when they didn't, she became upset. And as a wise person once said, unforgiveness is carrying around a backpack full of bricks. You can hold on to it if you want. You can even get used to the weight. But the moment you put it down, you'll realize just how heavy it was. And carrying around resentment and unforgiveness is like drinking poison and thinking it'll hurt the other person. It's only hurting you. She makes the interesting point that sometimes you expect someone to carry the entire ocean, but they're only capable of holding a thimble full of water. It's just not possible for them to have more. And by realizing that, it isn't an instantaneous change, but it can help you move past that and then have the courage to do other things. St. Jose Maria Escriva is noted for many wise teachings and writings that he penned, most notably in his collection of works, The Way, which really is a series of inspirational sentences or paragraphs, no particular rhyme or reason to them. Some of them are very religious, but others could just be considered motivational mottos. One thing he wrote was, take a moment every day to think about the moment of your death. Although that might seem macabre, if you do that each day, you'll be amazed at how greatly your life improves. Because you'll truly live each moment to the fullest, and also it will greatly change how you treat people. Because there are things that you might say to your loved ones that you'd feel terrible if something happened to that person the next day. Or if you realized you'd never get to see that person again, maybe you wouldn't behave that way. So if you think about that fact, it could encourage you to treat others differently and make that bold leap. A different article connects with this theme, because it's called The Simplicity of Fully Committing Yourself. It's really just a few paragraphs, and it's talking about how easy it is to get caught in a rut, being stuck, where you feel like you're stuck in everything because you're frustrated in a lot of regards. We can get stuck in a holding pattern where it feels like things aren't moving forward and we're just doing the same things every day, and maybe we're holding ourselves back with bad decisions or uncertainty and fear. But at some point, if we want to move our lives forward in a meaningful way, we have to get out of the comfort zone, and it all starts with making one decision. Yes, it feels overwhelming, but it can be pretty simple to actually move forward. All you have to do is to decide to fully commit yourself to your biggest project. You make a commitment to others and to yourself to get it done. Maybe build a team to help you do it, make a plan, check in weekly to see how you're coming up with it. But ultimately, you have to show up with full commitment. All of a sudden, from this one big commitment, you start to move forward. You feel courageous, you're taking action, and you can feel the energy of progress. And then that will give you the confidence and the willingness to face discomfort and take action. So it'll encourage you to do your other goals that you have been putting off, like start to exercise, which will make you feel better, and then that'll make you want to eat better food and get more sleep. You'll have more energy to declutter your house, tackle that challenge at work, maybe start that new hobby you've been wanting to tackle for years. There's a snowball effect, but a positive one. And you'll be aware that as life goes on, there'll always be ongoing work to do. But you're now willing to take the challenge and really live. And the article concludes, all this from taking that first leap of fully committing yourself to one thing. You know there is always a way once you commit to it. So that's not just doing one thing, you have to fully commit to it. Because isn't that the legacy that you want to leave for yourself and your children, your friends? Wouldn't you like people to say about you, that person really wasn't afraid to take a challenge and do a great job, no matter how hard it was, to try to not just go through the motions of life, but to really make the most of each day by doing something positive. Even if it's a small thing. Because we remember that each moment is fleeting and will never come again, and that our lives are short but can be packed with meaning if we commit to doing things on a small scale, on a large scale, on any scale in between. Because no matter how small you feel like your scope of impact is, you're making a big difference in somebody's life. And someone would never be the same after meeting you. Thank you for spending this time with me, talking about the legacy we build throughout our lives, and how we can really embrace each moment more by fully committing to doing one challenging thing. If you enjoyed this video, I hope you'll like it, subscribe to the channel, share it with your friends, and leave a comment letting me know what you want your legacy to be. Thank you for watching!