A Life to Be Proud Of

Here’s a game I play to take stock of myself and help guide the way I live day to day. I think about what people will say about me after I die. Then I think about what I'd WANT people to say about me.

I’d like to know that I’ve had a positive impact on the lives of people I’ve known, in small ways or big. I’d like to hear things that would make me proud.

Here are some things I’d like people to say about me:

-- Shin was a fighter. She never gave up.
-- Shin was a great mother. Josie and Toby couldn’t have had a better mother.
-- Shin loved Tony for reasons even he didn’t understand.
-- Shin could always make me laugh.
-- Shin delighted in the smallest little things and appreciated so many things most of us take for granted.
-- Because of Shin, I know a lot about cancer risks and how to lessen them in my life.
-- I stopped smoking/started exercising regularly/eating healthier food because of Shin.
-- Sometimes I want to give up and just let the cancer get me. But then I think of Shin and I decide to fight another day.
-- Shin was so patient and tolerant. (Okay, no one’s going to say this about me now, but I’m working on it!)
-- Shin showed me that death doesn’t have to be a terrifying thing. Because of her, I don’t fear death; instead, I embrace life with more gusto.
-- Shin taught me how to use lie/lay and I/me correctly. Whenever I can’t decide whether to use “I” or “me”, I think of her.
-- From Shin, I learned to see myself as a work in progress, and each day, I try to act in a way that makes me a better person today than the person I was yesterday.
-- Shin forgave herself and others for their weaknesses and mistakes.

And on and on. I have so many more things to put on this list because there’s so much I’m still working on.

You should try making such a list for yourself. And every time you have to make a choice in your daily life, whether it be yelling at your kids versus speaking to them calmly, or taking the high-paid job versus staying home to raise your children, think about this list of things you'd like people to say about you.

You don't have to face death to live a life that you can be proud of.