H of DASH
You will have noticed within the other elements that make up our DASH that i talk about the ‘future you’ a lot. I do think about my future frequently, but they way i think about it has changed. I used to think about it from a vain and non-meaningful point of view. I’d think about my salary and the type of house I’d live in.
More recently and with the continual strive to live more stoic-like in nature, i think more about deeper things.
Am i happy. Are my family and friends healthy and thriving. These sort of things.
Whilst it is important to think about the future and your direction, it is also important to live in the present.
The present is where we constantly build upon our character and ultimately forge how we are to be remembered, what honour we exude.
What i mean by honour is this; how do you want to be remembered?
I think a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that you can’t influence how people remember you when you are gone.
It’s incorrect.
When someone close to you passes, all your family and friends gather and tell stories of that person.
These stories are a snapshot of your life, of your dash.
They are the moments from your life that those closest to you wish to speak about in an effort to feel connection once you’ve passed.
These stories are all real. You lived them.
So without knowing it, there are moments right now that could be the overriding story someone tells at your funeral.
I don’t say this to be dramatic. I say this because you can do something about it.
Your personal honour is something that’s formed over a long period of time. When someone mentions your name to another person who knows you, what do they say? What do you want them to say?
‘Oh yeh i know Sam, he’s incredibly caring’. Or.
‘Yes i met Anna a while ago, she’s a very truthful person.’
These concepts and ways of describing your character are for you to embody.
People don’t come up with random words to describe you.
They hear your name or see your face and within milliseconds there brain delivers a word or two to there mouth. You can influence that.
So despite Honour being the last element of our DASH, i implore you to think about honour as a part of our Direction, Action and Self.