#atom

Clarifying personal values by imagining your own funeral

Core Idea: By imagining what you'd want people to say at your funeral, you gain clarity about your core values and can better align your current actions with the legacy you want to leave.

Key Elements

• Origins in mortality awareness practices that help clarify priorities

• Focuses on the funeral rather than just an obituary for deeper emotional impact

• Process:

  1. Ask yourself: "What would I feel good about someone saying in my eulogy?"
  2. Consider perspectives from different people in your life (family, friends, colleagues)
  3. Focus on what would truly matter at the end of life, not temporary achievements
  4. Reflect on what these desired remembrances reveal about your values
  5. Apply insights to current life decisions and priorities

• Benefits:

  • Creates emotional clarity around abstract values
  • Distinguishes between surface-level achievements and deeper contributions
  • Provides a framework for current decision-making
  • Reduces misalignment between actions and core values

Connections

• Related Concepts: Misalignment Burnout (this method helps prevent it), Values Affirmation (complementary process)
• Broader Context: Mortality Awareness (using death awareness to enhance life)
• Applications: The 12-Month Celebration (translates eulogy insights into medium-term goals), Three Alignment Quests (converts eulogy values into daily actions)

References

1. Abdaal, A. (2023). Feel Good Productivity.

#values #reflection #purpose #productivity

Connections:

Sources:

• From: Abdaal-Feel-good Productivity