In our western society, we spend so much time chasing the things in life, that truly have no meaning, such as wealth and power- ‘’The American Dream’’.

More like a nightmare.

As a result of this chase where nothing is quite good enough, we put ourselves under so much stress, tension and anxiety that we cause ourselves untold amounts of negative emotions, mental health problems and physical ailments. Its no wonder, we are popping more pills, taking more time off work, seeing more suicide and generally feeling less able to achieve a degree of happiness in our lives.

And yet we tend to focus so little on improving ourselves from the inside, and understanding what we are truly meant to be and do during our short time on earth, or work on finding our real purpose in life.

I don’t know about you, but at every funeral I’ve ever been to, the friend or family member giving the eulogy usually says: “what a kind and caring person he was,’’ or ‘’what a wonderful mother she was’’  or ‘’how she would do anything for her family she adored’’, or  ‘’he was community minded and selfless’’.

I’ve never heard a eulogy that says ‘’he rose up the ranks to senior management quickly and drove a fabulous top of range BMW’’ or ‘’she was fabulously wealthy with a huge portfolio of buy to let properties’’ or ‘’he successfully drove change in the business for the benefit of key stakeholders’’.

Why?

No one cares about power and money.

These things don’t last.

That’s not your legacy.

Your real legacy is the love and support you gave to others in your lifetime.

But this can only be achieved though understanding yourself, growing spiritually and emotionally, and constantly aspiring to be a better person.

Now I know this is not at all easy.

There are way too many temptations in the way that provide a quick win. A quick hit of dopamine to make you feel great in the moment, until the next time.

We are all addicted.

Its not easy to change, but change we must and constantly.

After all we are changing every day without even being aware of it. Many of our cells change every few years and some every few months. So we are not even the same person we were when we were born. Think about that a minute. That’s amazing. The point is, if we don’t change, we stagnate, and we don’t grow, and if we don’t grow we aren’t really living. So what’s the point?

Change is good and should be embraced. Change may be forced upon you externally, or you can choose to embrace it. Only last week I met a client whose house had just burned to the ground in the most unlikely of circumstances. I fully expected frustration and anger, but to my surprise I was met with a calm stoic outlook.

No one had been hurt. The house would be rebuilt, and it was an opportunity to possibly take a different direction in life. Change the layout, sell up and move on. Retire. A whole host of opportunity through change presented itself. It was so refreshing to see this attitude, which is after all a choice.

Our time on this planet is very short indeed.

It’s a finite resource. Its all we have. So, let’s use every second of each day to improve ourselves and challenge ourselves to grow and be a better person, so that we leave a wonderful legacy of love and joy to all we know.

What will they say at your funeral?

Have a great day!