Leaving a Legacy of Yourself to Yourself

Legacy...something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past (reference Mirriam-Webster). As a parent, I am often conscience of the fact that what I do with and in front of my children will have a long-term effect on them. I am creating a legacy for how they will operate (act, prioritize, associate, etc.). Whether that is how I treat their mother, how I walk the Christian walk, how I treat others, how I act in public, or how I raise them, there are so many areas which this applies.

I was just thinking that I will often say to people, in person or on the phone, with sincerity, "Have a good day!" Lately I've heard my 4-year old say that to people when we leave. It gives you that warm fuzzy feeling because you know you are showing a positive example to your child.

I think that when we go day to day, as parents, we may forget that compromising on some areas in life may have some detrimental outcomes to our children's future. But think about how some of the same areas of compromise can have detrimental outcomes to our own future. That brings us to this week's quote...

Create the kind of self you will be happy to live with all your life. ~ Foster C. McClellan

If you've ever played Jenga you know that it is inevitable that the tower will fall. You build and build, but sometimes things happen that causes the tower to fall and you start the game over. In life, I think we have a tendency to operate the same way. Each day is a building process, even adding to others' lives. Some days we may "tear down" some others with a choice we made. Then, other days we are building back up. There seems to be a constant building and tearing down. Hopefully, there is more building than tearing down!

As you are building on your own life, you should look to have a day that is creating a legacy, within you, that you are going to be building up most days that the future will be a good one.

I am not talking just about morals, treating others, the Christian walk, but also our physical health is important. Whether it is our diet, exercise, smoking, drugs, alcohol, etc., the future may reflect on how we treated ourselves years prior. One nutrition fact I heard of late, that it takes about 60 minutes of walking to expend a 12 oz. can of soda. So, you can either increase your exercise for the day or decide to cut out that extra and drink water for one meal. That really put it into perspective for me, both from a personal and parenting perspective.

What will the "you" look like in 5, 10, or 30 years? Will you be happy to live with yourself at that time in your life?

Now it's your turn...what choices have you made that caused you to learn from, to change to make your future better?