What Will Be Your Legacy?
Recently, my daughters and I had the great privilege of handing out two Jr. C Hockey Awards named in honor of my late husband/the girls' Dad, Jeff, who played for the team in his teens to early 20s.
When I received the call that the Club had chosen Jeff for this award out of all the great guys who have played for this team over the years, I was very touched as I know Jeff would be.
Jeff loved hockey! He was the team's Captain, receiving numerous MVPs coupled with Most Sportsmanship Awards/Top Goal Scorer.
This inaugural (and now annual) award was given to the player who demonstrated great Leadership and Ability.
When the Club was researching Jeff, they learned that he was also earning extremely high grades while playing hockey so they decided to create another award for a current player who is enrolled in a challenging university program who demonstrates a high level of achievement academically as well as on the ice.
While at the Awards Ceremony, I looked at these young guys with their lives ahead of them and I saw a younger version of Jeff in my mind. Yes, his story on this Earth ended way too soon. But, he did have a beautiful life filled with lots of love, adventure, a job he loved, and yes, lots of hockey!
In addition to these hockey awards, Jeff has awards in his honour at three different schools. I know that Jeff would be so humbled. It has been almost five years since he passed away, and he is still being remembered by many people. His legacy extends far and wide.
This leads me to ask the question, what do I want my legacy to be? What do you want your legacy to be? A legacy is not created at the end of our lives, it is what we do and who we are leading up to our final moment. If you are not sure about the answer to this big question, allow me to help you put some thought into it.
When Thinking About What You Want Your Legacy To Be, Ask Yourself:
Who do I want to impact?
How do I want to impact others?
What is the most important thing that I want to be remembered for?
What am I most passionate about in my life?
What are my strengths/gifts?
What areas am I prioritizing my greatest amount of time/energy/resources in my life right now?
How am I treating people in my personal life? How do I treat people in my professional life? Could I do better? If so, how?
If you could create any legacy for yourself, what would it look like?
What steps do you need to start taking today to build that legacy?
Remember, that it takes a lifetime to build a legacy. But, very few of us know how long that lifetime will be. I encourage you to make the most of each day but be patient with yourself. Live life to the fullest while savouring the moments. Be kind in your interactions with others. Take the extra time to teach and mentor others along the way while never being afraid to still learn. Live mindfully, the best that you can, with no regrets.
