How to Make Every Day Your Best and Build a Legacy

“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” — William James

Photo by Andrea Rico on Unsplash

We, the people of the world, are living in a results-driven culture. We see it in the workplace. We’re reminded of it on television. It’s plastered all over billboards and social media. ‘If you achieve something — anything — then that will come to define you. And those results, are all that really matters,’ they tell us. You and I both know that’s a bunch of rubbish.

We’re fed a Be — Do — Have system of thinking. It all culminates in a bottom-line approach. “Show me the money.” “What have you done for me lately?” In reality, this obsession with results matters so very little when juxtaposed against our life’s journey. Results don’t quite measure up to the minutes and hours lived in the “Be” and “Do” states. Results take time. They’re often goals we work toward.

And work, we should, toward our goals and dreams. I’m a chief proponent of this! Just know, your energy is far better spent and focused on living each moment of the day with vim, vigor and full immersion in the “Be” and “Do” activities. As you’ll see, I also encourage you to recognize that you likely currently have something great going. You just have to appreciate it for what it is.

We can find happiness, fulfillment and a sense of our purpose in the world in all three stages. Where we get lost and suffer is when we fixate too much on the future — what we don’t have. When we long for these results that may not even be what we truly want at heart. This leads to anxiety and a hollow feeling that leaves us empty and unsatisfied.

Building Your Foundation

Results are both objective and subjective. Some people live their life trying to achieve particular results because they think it will make their parents, boyfriend, girlfriend or classmates proud. While those are wonderful complements and side effects, they should not be the reasons why you do what you do. The results you strive for should be for your own self-satisfaction.

Look at this small graph below of “Be”, “Do” and “Have.” I believe for far too long, our culture has obsessed over the results. As a result…