Everyday Legacies

People, People

Don’t you know you have a choice?

From the song People

By Susan Tedeschi????????????

Fascinated by how people consider Legacy, I conducted over 50 interviews regarding their ideas, thoughts, and feelings about the word and concept of Legacy and whether they believe it shows up for them or not.

These curiosities percolated in my mind as I considered my own Legacies and took a deep dive into conversations exploring the value of Legacy Mindsets. I encourage you to join me.

Making good choices in the present is not so easily done. Doing so requires perspectives drawn from conscious consideration and reflection. Many people do not focus their energies in these ways.

You are more apt to do so with help from a Coach or mentor.

·?????What are Legacies?

·?????Why do Legacies matter??

·?????When do Legacies get created?

What are Legacies?

The two most consistent ways the people I interviewed defined Legacy differ from the dictionary definitions of Legacy. Conventional Legacy definitions focus on gifting money or personal property, usually real estate, to others. My interviewees defined Legacy more broadly as the impact each of us has on others, the world, and what we leave behind.

Some associated the concept of Legacies with self-aggrandizement, such as getting one’s name on a building, which turned them off. ?Men tended to place more emphasis on the financial aspects of Legacy than women.

However, as we dove deeper into the interviews, I found the whole of respondents focused much more on the lasting impact of their relationships with others, their families, friends, colleagues, and sometimes their communities and the broader society.

These conversations illuminated how we create a variety of Legacies through different aspects of our lives.?

Why do Legacies matter?

How you affect others and our environment embodies the quality of the lives you live. Legacies are determined both by your intentions and the differences you make. Shaped by the degree you add to or diminish others with whom you interact as you move through your days.

Each of us creates an impact, and consequently, each of us leaves something behind every day, everywhere we go. Therefore, Legacies are relevant to everyone.

How you impact people in our day influences their attitude, energy, and mood, affecting how they move others with whom they interact, and so on out. Consequently, your actions have a rippling effect.

Whether you buy into the concept of the Butterfly Effect or not, that small, seemingly insignificant action in one part of the world can profoundly impact other parts of the world.

You can recognize when you are impacted by others, belittled by your boss, flipped off by a person in traffic, or receiving a heartfelt compliment from a friend or colleague and how these interactions affect your feelings, attitudes, decisions, and actions. And how, in turn, they impact your interactions with others.

This rippling effect is exemplified by the notion that flapping a butterfly’s wings over a flower in Brazil can set off a hurricane in Texas.

In this way, our interactions, which comprise our Legacies, have a compounding effect. Again, the question is how much they contribute to or take away from others or the environment.

When do your Legacies get created?

Legacies are created every day, continuously, moment-by-moment, on an ongoing basis. Therefore, they are urgent and cannot wait.

I discovered that some people do not believe this. Most had never considered the idea before. They believed Legacies only exist in the cumulative, at particular points in time, such as when they launch their children, retire, or die.

It is as if they believe Legacies do not exist until they decide to pay attention to them. Exemplified by the statement, ‘I am not ready to tend to my Legacy.’ Presumably, that time will be later in life.

This is magical thinking. There are real dangers to holding this belief system. By believing that Legacies are in the future and that we must wait until we are older to have them, we miss the opportunities right there before us in the present moment. When we ignore them, our ‘Legacy opportunities’ pass us by unattended.

By natural law, our Legacies are comprised of the sum total of our everyday interactions, decisions, and behaviors. Consequently, our everyday actions combine to form our aggregate Legacies. ??

When we fail to recognize that we are continuously creating Legacies every day, right here, right now, we risk not taking full responsibility for the effect we have on all those with whom we interact throughout our lives.

Just like we cannot not communicate, we cannot help but leave Legacies.

We are perpetually creating Legacies of impact and leaving them behind.

We live more consciously when we acknowledge this reality and keep it at the forefront of our minds. We become inclined to treat others and our environment better. We recognize and take full responsibility for our lives and our impact.

Since we are constantly creating Legacies, focusing on leaving those we desire makes sense.

Remember, you can never go back and make a brand-new start, yet you can always start today to make a brand-new end.

Worthy Inquiries:

1.????Do you believe you are creating Legacies every day, moment by moment, through your interactions with others and your environment? Or that the qualities of these interactions ripple out to others?

2.????Can you embrace that Legacies represent the continual and cumulative impact of your life, therefore, are vital, compelling, and relevant to everyone? Would doing so up your responsibility?

3.????What is the quality of your everyday Legacies? Are they accumulating into the lasting Legacies you value most?

4.????What steps can you take to be more conscious of the Legacies you are creating today?

5.????Do you believe taking your time to consider your Legacies will make you more likely to live and lead with fewer regrets?

Please reach out to discuss how paying attention to the Legacies you live and leave every day will improve your impact on others and the environment to benefit yourself, your team, your organization, and the broader world. I welcome the conversation.??