Write Your Own Eulogy and then Live Up To It

Who do you want to be when you grow up? Better yet, who do you want to be when you die? Why?

We live our lives one day at a time. Sometimes it’s easy to let the days blur together for long stretches at a time. But if we aren’t living intentionally, we could end up wherever the wind takes us:

If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable. — Seneca

If we don’t make choices, choices will be made for us:

A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance. — Hunter S. Thompson

Not all of us will be lucky enough to live to 100+ years old. In fact, if you live to be the current average lifespan in the US, you will have lived for just 1% of recorded history. Regardless of how much longer each of us have, I think we’d all like to avoid the #1 regret of the dying:

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. ― Bronnie Ware

Writing your own eulogy can help you live a life of no regrets. Fast forward into the future, and get ready to write!

Write Your Own Eulogy

I just read Brooke McAlary’s new book Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World. She references the book 642 Tiny Things to Write About that says, “Write your eulogy in three sentences.” Here’s Brooke’s self-created eulogy:

Quick to laugh, creative, compassionate, with a wicked sense of humor, Mom was never without a new plan or adventure on the horizon. She made one hell of an old- fashioned, was spontaneous, loyal, introspective, and believed wholeheartedly that we all have a responsibility to leave the world a better place than we found it. Mom, we’ll miss you always. Thank you for our roots, but thank you even more for our wings.

Don’t worry about getting it exactly right. Remember that you can edit your life purpose (and eulogy) at any time.