What will people remember about you after you die? Thinking about your legacy now could be good for you

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260522-why-do-we-want-to-be-remembered-after-we-die

What can thinking about the legacy you leave behind improve?

Mental health

What can thinking about the legacy you leave behind provide?

Meaning

What can thinking about the legacy you leave behind influence?

Life decisions

From what age does thinking about your legacy improve mental health, provide meaning, and influence life decisions?

Young age

Is legacy only about wealth or achievements?

No

Three types of legacy:

Biological, material, values

What does biological legacy include?

Having children, donating organs and body to science

What does material legacy include?

Possessions

What does values legacy include?

Beliefs, culture, actions

What are many people motivated by?

Contributing to medicine or giving meaning to death

Examples of legacy-focused activities:

Writing letters, journals, ethical wills

Where are legacy-focused activities used in?

End-of-life care

What can legacy-focused activities reduce?

Anxiety, depression, grief

What do most people pass on?

Kindness, beliefs, life lessons

What do most people not pass on?

Material wealth

What does creating a legacy of values help one to do?

Find peace, accept their past, clarify what matters most in life

Who came up with the concept of generativity?

Erik Erikson

What does the concept of generativity describe?

Human drive to contribute to future generations

What may failing to achieve generativity negatively affect?

Wellbeing

What can thinking about legacy shift people from and to?

From death anxiety to reflective acceptance

Why are humans partly motivated to leave a legacy?

Due to desire for meaning, storytelling, connection, concern about how others remember them

Can people fully control how their legacy is interpreted after death?

No

What can over-fixating on one’s legacy do?

Detract from living in the present

What does reflecting on legacy early in life encourage?

Prosocial behavior

Examples of prosocial behaviors:

Helping others, environmental action, contributing to society through work or charity

What present benefits does thinking about your legacy offer?

Motivation, purpose, mental wellbeing

What does thinking about legacy offer?

Present benefits and sense of symbolic immortality after death