STRONGER TOGETHER: What Will They Say When You’re Gone?

"STRONGER TOGETHER" is a weekly column where Tanya explores key issues. This week Tanya discusses how imagining your own funeral or writing your own obituary can inspire you to live intentionally, focusing on the values and actions that shape the legacy you want to leave behind.

By IMPACT Community Services Managing Director Tanya O'Shea

You’re standing at the back of the room, unnoticed. The air is heavy with the scent of lilies, and at the front, a polished casket rests among flowers and framed photographs, snapshots of moments that mattered.

People gather in small clusters, voices low, sharing memories and stories. From the shadows of your own goodbye, you listen. What do you hear? Is it the story you hoped for?

It’s a confronting, but powerful thought. Imagining your own funeral, or writing your obituary, isn’t about being morbid. It’s about clarity. It’s a mirror moment that asks: Am I living the life I want to be remembered for?

Because here’s the truth: people rarely talk about promotions or possessions when someone is gone. They talk about character. They talk about impact. They talk about how you made them feel.

Legacy isn’t built in grand gestures; it’s shaped in the choices we make every day.

If you hope people will say you were generous, start practicing generosity now. If you want to be remembered as adventurous, take that trip, try that new hobby. If you want to be known for kindness, let it show in the way you speak and act.

So, take five minutes today. Write the words you’d want spoken about you. Then ask yourself: Does my life reflect this?

If not, consider it your chance to rewrite the story, because it isn’t finished yet. You hold the pen so craft a story worth telling.

Live today like you want to be remembered tomorrow.