In order to answer this question, it is imperative we define what is a legacy?
To me the most important legacy a person has is the portrait they leave behind in the mind of others posthumously.

The physical portrait of a loved one over the years begins to fade, we start forgetting the once so familiar face. What remains is how a person lived, their mindset.

The greatest legacy a human can leave is the right mindset.. this is what your loved ones will remember you by.

In this modern world of micro-aggressions and triggers, only those with the right mindset, powered by the content of one’s character will be an everlasting legacy.

I was reading a Facebook post from a foundation that forced me to contemplate the sad state of affairs today that is decaying the character of so many. It read “Your feelings are inherently right and true.”

There is nothing overtly destructive about such advice to genuine sufferers of PTSD to reassure them to not ignore their plight. However, without the right context a victim mindset being validated is a recipe for disaster.

The world has become emotionally driven, again I concede emotions are not evil nor something to be suppressed, but if emotions are the first place from which our mind reacts we’re bound to destroy ourselves.

Here is an analogy, if a cheetah, whose nature is to be a predator and winner in the game of life, approached each chase of the gazelle from a place of emotion, there would be no chase. The cheetah must react from reason (that I need to hunt and chase a certain way to survive) rather than emotion.

There is a popular phrase today “facts don’t care about feelings.” To have a legacy mindset, we cannot let our emotions dictate our reactions (in every instance). We can’t blindly accept our feeling are “right and true.” Absolute truths and facts matter…far more than a person’s need to not be offended.

Most people would agree.. life today is as good as it has ever been in comparison to previous generations. We look back to our parents and grandparents, they had their own life challenges but also the world was far less technological aided.

Yet, we see incredible legacies in the form of the right mindset being displayed. Not being victims but finding the courage to stand firm in the midst of adversity.

I often recall Dr Martin Luther King Jr. the great Civil Rights leader who famously said..”I have a dream that my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but the CONTENT of their Character.”

This man left an incredible legacy of his fortitude and right mindset.. we remember him even 60 years on from when that famous speech echoed around the world.

In a racially segregated country, this man did not adopt a victim mindset, in the face of overwhelming odds he refused to be governed by his emotions alone. He could have given in to his emotions saying you have every right to lash out against the bigotry you face each day. If he did, his legacy would be lost to the pages of history.

Each one of us must ask ourselves every day, is my response to adversity measured, appropriate or am I ‘losing my cool’ disproportionate to my adversity?’

Displaying the right mindset is the exception, otherwise the world would remember the legacy of every human. The reality is it takes exceptional courage to have the right mindset and they are the ones remembered favourably. To love when it isn’t deserved… to persevere when your back’s against the wall.

So if we take our individual legacy, sure not all of us might leave behind a legacy like Dr. King, but would not leaving an exceptional legacy for our loved ones be worth the sacrifice and hard work to maintain the right mindset?

Society today label so much as hate speech.. but as Tom McDonald says “there’s a difference between hate speech and speech that you hate.”

People with the wrong mindset are asking not for equality, but advocacy for things that benefit them. If they are asked to adhere to a standard that benefits someone else, you can be sure they will unleash a tantrum.

I want to be remembered for the legacy of the right mindset that acted with reason, helped people in need, defended the vulnerable and most of all exercised love.