Creating Legacy Goals for the New Year
Happy 2020 friend!
I took a bit of a break from blogging and working because we’ve been fighting off a ton of sickness at our house over the last 5 weeks. Between stomach bugs, influenza, pneumonia, sinus infections, and bronchitis, we just could not stay well around here! It’s been a major time of rest just out of necessity.
But the break has given me so much time to really think about my goals and this coming year. Usually, after the New Year, I’m all about setting huge productivity goals like organizing my house, coming up with a workout plan, or envisioning new projects for the shop.
This year though, as my family just laid around spending time together with very little energy, I couldn’t help but think about what really matters in the long run.
Legacy has been on my mind a lot since finding my Great-Grandma’s travel journal this summer. So I’ve been thinking what can I spend my time on this year that will make a difference to the people I care about a year from now? 10 years from now? 50 years from now?
There’s nothing wrong with a clean house or a solid workout strategy, but I’m challenging myself to look at the big picture a bit more. If you’re feeling the same way this year, I came up with a list of different ideas for how to do that. (I’d also love to hear your ideas if you have any to add in the comments!)
1 | Create Photo Books
Now that everything is digital and we take photos of everything from our breakfast to our outfit of the day, it’s really tough to sort through it all and find the truly special moments. So a really simple way to make that happen is to create photo books for each year. If you have something printed, it’s a lot more likely that you’ll relive those memories instead of shuffling through a phone app.
When I was stuck in bed over the last few weeks, I just created a new album for each of the last few years. Then I spent some time going through and adding all of the best photos from each year to its folder. Eventually, I want to take those folders and create photo books to be printed so we won’t just forget those special memories.
2 | Journal Your Days
I used to journal every single day when I was in high school and college. I’m not sure why I stopped, but it’s always so entertaining to go back and read the things I was experiencing then. It’s pretty funny reading about a crush I had on my now-husband and how I prayed about him. I really wish I had journaled more when my kids were little and recorded all of the cute things they said.
It’s so very easy to forget! But once it’s in writing, it can be read and remembered for generations to come. So grab a notebook and write down what’s going on in your life, what lessons you’re learning or what you want to pass on to future generations.
3 | Memorize Scripture
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Deut. 6:6-9
Knowing and teaching God’s Word is so important. It’s living and active and I think an essential part of loving and following Him. I have always loved the above verses which are part of the Shema. Especially that last one about writing them on the doorframes of your houses and your gates, because we sort of do it literally by creating type art verses on the wall! Ha.
The point though is that if the truth is constantly on our minds and we teach it to our kids, then we aren’t easily deceived. During hard times, I’ve been so thankful for hopeful verses coming to mind that remind me of what is true. This app is helpful if you want to make learning scripture a habit.
4 | Give Meaningful Gifts
I’m not a gift-giver by nature. I have friends and family members that cannot let me leave their presence without sending me on my way with something special. It’s not that I want to hoard my stuff, but it just doesn’t occur to me to give things away at the time.
There is something so special about a meaningful gift no matter how small. Remember the Great-Grandmother I talked about earlier? One example is that she gave me a simple note with a quote on it and I’ve treasured it and come back to it for over 20 years! She probably didn’t even realize how much it would mean to me.
5 | Help A Need
What do you truly care about or what strengths do you have to offer? One way to think big picture is to realize the needs around you and how you can help. Even just spending an hour a month tutoring or mentoring someone could literally change their life.
Maybe you don’t have time but you do have spare cash. You could financially support a child and give them the ability to go to school or have food to eat. Maybe you don’t have money, but you do have a lot of extra stuff you could donate to those who’ve lost everything or can’t afford basics. Maybe you don’t have time, money, or stuff to give, but you do have a voice. You can share awareness about a cause so that others can help in different ways.
6 | Teach What You Know
Can you think back to a skill or lesson you learned from someone who took the time to teach you? Maybe you learned how to play a sport from a coach, how to cook from your mom, or how to change a tire from your dad. Or thinking beyond just skills, was there someone in your life that took the time to show you what it meant to be patient, kind, or generous?
You’ve had unique experiences in your life and learned things that others probably really want to know. If you have kids, those little ears are already soaking up what you say and do. So teach them what lessons you want them to know! Share what skills could give them a head start. Whether it’s in a blog post, a podcast, or face to face, taking the time to teach what you know can make a huge difference in someone else’s life.
7 | Spend The Time
There is nothing quite as meaningful as taking the time to be present with others. It’s not easy though! Especially in the age of social media notifications and a million different apps vying for our attention.
In the big picture, long term of your life, what’s going to make a bigger difference though? Scrolling mindlessly through Facebook or Instagram on the couch? Or sitting down and playing a game with your littles?
Spending the time to actually join others in what they’re doing and listening distraction-free to what your family members are saying makes a big (HUGE) difference. How tragic would it be if our friends’ and family’s biggest memory of us is with a phone in front of our face or too busy to talk? Instead, we could have a legacy of always being a listening ear or of always being the one to initiate fun adventures. Spend. The. Time.
I know that none of these legacy goals are easy. Many of them aren’t trackable with numbers and checkboxes. They probably won’t make for a great Instastory or Youtube video. But they can make our lives and the lives of those around us so much richer in the long run.
What do your goals for 2020 look like? Are any big-picture, legacy goals on your radar? Share below!
