Many of us have heard of the “tombstone” or “funeral” exercise. The one where we think about what we would like to be remembered for or spoken about for “generations to come!” For most, it’s not about the house we owned, the car we drove, or the title we held at work. It’s more likely about what we experienced, what we taught, what we did with the circumstances we had, and how we helped people feel.
We speak of the “generations to come” … but guess what, those generations are very short-lived. Here’s an interesting exercise: Start by writing down your parents’ first and last names, and a couple of points about the most critical things they did and taught you. Then go back one generation, to your four grandparents. Now go back to your eight great-grandparents. Probably getting a little patchy by now. Finally, reach as far back to your sixteen great-great-grandparents. It’s fascinating how few of us can articulate the role that even a few in this generation played.
So, the legacy question might be simplified to “what are you going to leave your children and grandchildren?” … so that they might pass along what you taught them, to the two generations behind them.
What are you going to leave behind? And for how many generations? Curious to know what you think …
Anna Minto
Founder & Consultant, Transformational Change
Executive Coach & Collaborator, You Are Possible
LinkedIn.com/in/annaminto
Anna Minto - Transformational Change 