If you were to tell your life story to your grandchildren one day, what would you tell them? Or, if you were to appear before the whole of humanity one day in the twilight of your life, what elements would you insist on? And if you are a believer, what inner dialogue do you have with God and why you did what you did each day?
Destiny rarely follows a straight line. When we look back, we try to find the common thread to find coherence and be able to justify our choices. If instead of writing in retrospect, why not make a conscious decision to write your life in a novelistic way so that each day is an epic chapter? To do this, one must be able to define the values by which one wishes to live. These values must then find an immediate concretization in order to be able to embody them with clarity in daily life.
The difficulty is essential to transform what we are, like the currents that polish the pebbles of a river. Our willpower is limited every day, so we cannot overload ourselves with every challenge that comes our way. Yet, it is appropriate to allocate some of this willpower on a regular basis to overcome the fear we feel when we are apprehensive about a challenge or danger. This anxiety is twofold, it is not only about the danger itself, it is also about the fear of transformation and the uncertainty of becoming the person we will be at the end of this ordeal.
To grow, to mature, to evolve, to strengthen oneself: all this represents efforts and risk taking. Laziness or the absolute search for comfort pushes us to turn away from the difficulty. Yet, the more we refuse these challenges put in our way, the more we atrophy our identity and the more insecurity becomes our companion on the road.
To write your legend is to choose to have a proactive role in your life by being either guided by a strong value that inspires you or governed by the search for the divine presence in order to be a servant of it.
The importance of drawing from one’s source
The idea behind this approach is that it is actually partly unconscious. We all have a potential within us that is just waiting to be expressed as long as we avoid the pitfalls of conformity. To write your legend is to be directly connected to its source and to be able to express it on a daily basis. It’s simple, what we are deep inside is what we love the most. To write your legend, you have to be the best in a field and to do so, you have to work with passion and even exaltation.
Do not fall into the trap of vanity
It is true that the title is evocative, we feel that we must be the promoter of our own life to draw attention to ourselves. In reality, what we control are our actions and our connection to our source (and the universe). A legend is written for us by others. We have no control over what people will say or think about us, so it is best not to dwell on these considerations but rather to put our heart and soul into our work and ignore the rest.
Keep a “human” approach and a spirit of continuous improvement
If you do too much today, you risk compromising your productivity tomorrow. In order to be effective over time, you need to keep your effort constant and not undermine future efforts. To make a long journey on foot or on horseback, it is advisable to adopt a reasonable pace and not to make speed peaks, at the risk of damaging the articulations or the muscles so that you or your horse are obliged to stop for several days.
Of course, you will tell me that a legend is built on a feat of brilliance such as an army general who wins a flamboyant victory or a footballer who makes a sensation by scoring three goals in the final of a competition. It’s true, legends do blend with a form of panache and wonder. However, the qualities required to make these moments possible are more akin to the regularity with which a craftsman works each day rather than the ardor with which all comic book superheroes seem to be endowed.
No more comparisons
What can nip your ability or lack thereof to write your legend in the bud is the desire to always compare yourself. Let’s stop that! When we compare ourselves, we look outside for the answers we should be finding inside. Of course it is necessary to know what the competition is doing, but remember, the key to the problem is the expression of our source. This requires ignoring others or at least observing without comparing ourselves. The life, the context, the unfair advantages of your competitors can be totally different from the others, have a strategy that takes into account your own obstacles but also your own qualities.
Finally, comparison with others undermines your morale because it prevents you from seeing your true value because you are dazzled by that of others. To put an end to this spirit of comparison, you must limit the amount of time you spend each day observing your competitors (which can quickly turn into admiration of others and then self-hatred). If you devote more time to your work, to introspective activities (reading, meditation, individual sports, etc.) while limiting your attention to others, you will mechanically get closer to your source and make the diamond in the rough that you are shine.
