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A Legacy Isn’t What You Think It Is
5 Ways to Reconsider What We Think We Know About Mattering
The idea of leaving a legacy in life came up on Facebook earlier — everything it does and doesn’t mean (and to whom). I posted a meme I found. Then a couple of friends direct-messaged me to share some of their own thoughts on the subject.
And as sometimes happens with me, the word kept bouncing around in my head throughout the day, long after those conversations were over.
Legacy.
What does it actually mean to people to have one, and should it mean those things? Why is it so crucial to so many people? And perhaps most importantly, why hadn’t it ever been particularly important to me?
When we talk about legacy, most people picture something grand and (hopefully) lasting. They picture having children who grow up to accomplish something great, passing on wealth or a family business, or being remembered by the rest of society in a speech or a headstone. Maybe they even see themselves creating something artistic or inventing something groundbreaking that gets them recognized.
But the truth is, most of us won’t be remembered that way.
I’ve always been a realist. I’ve also never personally wanted children or cared much about winning other…
