a life worthy of recognition

“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”

― Lou Holtz

I want to live a life in such a way that after I'm gone people will say of me,  "she overcame". I want to be remembered as someone who lived well. I want people to remember me with kindness.

Isn't that what we all want? To not be forgotten when we're gone? To know that we left behind something worthwhile and that it will last beyond the grave? We want to leave a legacy.
When I think of my grandparents, I have mixed emotions. Part of me is proud of what they accomplished. My mom's parents ran a successful dairy farm. My dad's parents were well known for their evangelism.
The other part of me things of the little things. My mom's mom, when grandpa died, she took a job as a church secretary where she eventually retired. She became a fixture in the community due to her extensive interactions with the public at her job. My dad's dad worked for Jasper Engine and Transmission until his sudden death. Over 500 people attended his funeral, many of whom the family has never met but grandpa had impacted their lives in some way.
I look at my life and wonder what I will leave behind. Have I been a person of integrity and honor, someone others look up to? Or have I wasted my life?
It's not a black and white answer. It is both and yet one or the other. I look back at the years I spent in Christian ministry and see the faces of those who looked to me for support and encouragement, and I remember the struggle I faced to be that support for them. Leaving a legacy is letting go of parts of yourself so that there will be growth. You can't serve others if you're focused only on you. You can't expect people to respect you if you show yourself not worthy of respect.
It starts in our thoughts. How we view ourselves is often what fuels the way we see the world. We have the ability to change our thinking. We have the ability to love and forgive ourselves.
Life's trials come at us faster than we can process them. It often leaves us feeling lost, overwhelmed, confused, hurt, angry, betrayed, etc. It isn't how you manage your circumstances that matters the most. It's how you manage seeing your circumstances that matters. If you're constantly negative, you only see the negative. Words are powerful. Especially when they are spoken aloud.
We all have varying lengths of life, some only a few moments and then peace. Others a long life lived, lived well or not.
In the end, reality is that the majority of our legacy isn't in foundations or dedications. It isn't in what work we did or even words we said. Those things are important,  but our legacy lies within the way we view the world and whether we shared that positive outlook with others. If we can get a single person, man, woman or child, to look at the world around them in a different light, one that does good instead of harm, than that one person becomes our true legacy. It is up to them, in turn, keep the legacy going. Our job is to start the process.
I want that. I want to be a person that impacts even just one person. The question is... What am I willing to surrender to begin that legacy?