Legacy for Posterity

I am not talking about inheritance. I am talking about the impact we had on other people’s lives and the contributions that we made in our lifetime.  Each of us will depart from an institution or our families at some point of time. Till date I have moved on from my school, my college, university and will be shortly leaving my place of work. I wonder what legacy will I be leaving for posterity in my workplace ?  All of us are made up of portions of strength and flaws. If I can be remembered for the good part and flaws are ignored, I will feel that I did a good job.

To create a legacy calls for bravery or self-confidence.  My observation of leaders have shown me that guts is required to be able to make an impact,  which is another aspect of legacy. Knowledge and information can lead to increasing this bravery. This can be had through reading or through experience. Experience is created when we get opportunities to try out new things. Many a times, we crib that we are not given opportunity to prove ourselves.  But have we ever made it explicit that we are willing to try new things? Or is it that we allowed our self-limitation to define who we are?

Do  we take seriously whatever responsibility that comes our way and do it to the satisfaction of the concerned person? Remember we are being assessed and judged at every step. Have we voluntarily done things that caused us to move out from our comfort zone? Let me tell you the amount of satisfaction that you will experience once you overcome the discomfort is immeasurable. You will exude confidence that will be distinctly visible. In the process you will be building on your legacy.

There are many eyes on you, watching your moves, watching how you handle situations, watching how you carry yourself. They are trying to find a role model in you. Do not disappoint them. Give them an opportunity to remember your legacy.

For those who are beginning their careers, do visualize how you wish to be remembered at the end of your career…. and work on creating the legacy that you will leave behind for posterity. Be conscious that your career may end sooner than you had planned.  So don’t waste time. Get on the move.