“Legacy is what you’re doing right now, tomorrow, next week, the week after that. Keep it going as long as you can because it might be better than anything you’ve done before.” Martha Stewart.
What are you doing right now or tomorrow to leave the world a better place?
The question is not about what you did during your career. It’s also not about how much money you’re planning to leave to your heirs.
I know they have led us to believe we’re off the hook for doing more work. I’m calling BS on that idea.
Creating something new at this stage of life is difficult — at least for me.
Intellectually, I’m convinced the decades ahead provide an opportunity for my future to be bigger than my past. Aligning my everyday behavior with my bigger future doesn’t happen automatically or with ease.
A year from now, I look back and appreciate the effort and creativity involved in creating a weekly blog post. I have helped thousands of other retired women believe in their capacity to create their best life ever.
That’s easier said than done. Along the way I intend to stay as healthy as I am now and ideally become a little healthier.
The Marth Stewart quote above comes from an article related to her cover shoot for Sports Illustrated. Are your first reactions to the idea of an 81-year-old woman gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated positive? Are you thinking “you go girlfriend” or “that’s disgusting?”
A cover shoot for Sports Illustrated may not be on your list of things that will make your desired future bigger than your past, so what is?
If I’m being realistic, I know there are probably more years behind me than in front. I may die sooner than later is really just an excuse and a bad reason not to start.
For many of you the idea of getting older brings up more dread than excitement. What if the negatives of aging are no longer valid?
I’m 73 today. What if I’m only at the halfway point and I’m going to live until I’m 146? Dan Sullivan has been living life as though he will live to be 156. Dan thinks he’d like to live to see the beginning of the 22’d century.
What if you’re meant to live to the age of 146?
Take a few deep breaths and consider the possibility of being alive when you are 146 or 156. Put aside any negative reactions you go to out of habit. Don’t consider what your grandmother was like when she was younger than you are now. Imagine the possibilities with that much time.
I work with more people who aren’t pursuing the things they’ve always wanted to do. Retirement often means no new goals for them.
Your lifelong dreams are your goals, even if you choose to never pursue them.
Look around the wheel of your life: relationships, purpose/meaning, finances, accomplishments, health/well-being, and fun. On a scale of 1, being needs work, to 10, being the best possible, rate each category.
You may rate yourself at a 7 or 8 in all categories and consider that pretty good. Congratulations!
Considered what it would feel like to achieve a 9 or 10 in many categories in your life.
That’s one of the catch-22 traps of being human. We have a part of our brain that is always seeking to learn, grow and create. That part of the brain comes up with action ideas for achieving a 9 or 10.
The older, more primitive part of the brain will constantly argue against those actions. New thoughts, new habits and new ways of being are required to move from a 7 to a 9.
Your primitive brain is always just trying to keep you alive. Staying at a 7 or 8 will save energy, avoid pain and be more comfortable.
What’s your version of a Sports Illustrated cover shoot at 81? Mind you, it doesn’t have to relate to your appearance. What does it mean to be a 9 or 10 some place on the life wheel that’s most meaningful for you?
For me, it means I will have been teaching and coaching women to live their best life in retirement for almost 10 years. I’ll have helped reshape the standard life plan for living life in a time a longevity.
