Years ago, I read a wonderful ebook–The Flinch, by Julien Smith. In the book, Smith exhorted his readers to take a cold shower. He provided no other explanation. He just said, “Put the book down and go do it now.”
Smith anticipated that most of his readers would ignore his odd request and then make any number of excuses for not doing what he asked. He did not, however, let his readers off the hook. Smith added, “Whatever your excuse, it does not exempt you from the fact that you did not do it!”
To those who did, he explained his purpose afterward. He said the cold shower is like so many of the little obstacles in life that we resist tackling.
He suggested that confronting most of life’s little obstacles are–like taking a cold shower–not comfortable; but they also aren’t as difficult or painful as we imagine.
The message has always stuck with me, and I would now like to propose that you engage in a simple act that I suspect most of you also won’t do: Draft your own eulogy.
Like the cold shower, it is an uncomfortable act but by focusing you on what you want to be said at the end of your earthly existence, writing your eulogy can be an energizing, exhilarating, and a life-altering excise. It may even help you wake up to what you genuinely want to do and accomplish with your life.
Don’t wait: Write your eulogy and become the author of your own life.
P.S. On this Memorial Day, I would add that drafting your eulogy is a beautiful and fitting way to honor those who gave their lives so we could freely live ours. The question is: Are you using your freedom to lead a life worthy of their sacrifices?
Jack Uldrich is a leading global futurist committed to assisting individual leaders, companies, and organizations transcend traditional boundaries to create a wise and humane future. His forthcoming book, A More Beautiful Future will be released in early 2020.
