An Interesting Exercise

In "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", the author challenged the reader to try a very interesting exercise. Look down the corridors of time and imagine yourself at a your own funeral. Picture the room full of friends and family, business acquaintances and school friends. Of those present, four people will stand up and share what they remember about you and your life.

Therein lies the exercise... imagine what they would say. Consider what you would want them to say. Here are some of the questions posed plus a few of my own:

What is it that you would want those people to say?
What character did they see in you?
What difference did you make in their lives?
What difference did you make within your sphere of influence?
What kind of friend were you?
What kind of daughter?
What kind of wife?
What kind of mother?
What kind of sister?
What kind of qualities were you remembered for?
What adjectives would they use?
If you were a business owner, how did you handle your business?
In what way is the world different because you were in it?

As you mull these questions over, write down your answers. For me it was very fascinating to look at life in the reverse. I spent some time journaling my thoughts and impressions. It was a mixed bag of course... there were some things that I did not want to hear at my "funeral", things I knew I wanted to change. Yet there were glimmers of things that I wanted to hone and further develop.

Purpose... that is the point... to live life with purpose. Looking at life with a definite plan - if you will - so that you can live effectively. How different would my life look if I consistently thought about the end result of my choices and the use of my time? This exercise sort of built some personal accountability into my life because I set the bar myself (especially since I wrote it down). Keeping that bar in front of me motivates me to strive to accomplish it.