We tend to think that the only people who will have a long-lasting legacy are the rich and famous, but that’s not true. Everyone has the power to have a positive impact on the planet.
All too often, we can become overly concerned by the things we accumulate during our lifetimes, but it’s the things that we do that form our legacy.
What’s more, many of the things you can do that will have a positive impact are a lot more straightforward than you might think. As we’ll demonstrate below, you don’t need to win a Nobel Prize or become a record-breaking athlete to be remembered.
Plant a Tree
Think about this: there is a tree that you could plant today that could still be standing 300 – 500 years into the future. The UK has just lost The Major Oak, a tree that lived for more than 1000 years, making now the perfect time to look at planting your own.
There’s more to love about planting a tree than simply living on after you’ve gone. There are real-world benefits to there being more trees in the world. They help to improve air quality, assist local wildlife, and have even been shown to lower stress in humans. In other words: if everyone planted a tree, the positive ripple effects could be enormous.
Become a Sperm or Egg Donor
Speak to an egg or sperm donor, and they’ll often tell you that it’s one of the most meaningful things they’ve done.
And it’s easy to understand why. When you become a sperm donor or egg donor, you’ll be helping someone to start their very own family. In effect, you’re helping to bring someone — and a lot of joy — that otherwise wouldn’t exist into the world. The process is a lot more straightforward than most people expect, and also offers other advantages, such as receiving free genetic testing and reproductive health assessments.
Create a Work of Art
If the internet has taught us anything, it’s that works of art that were relatively obscure decades ago can suddenly find an audience long after they were created.
What’s fascinating about this is that creating a work of art actually takes a relatively short amount of time. Writing a book or creating a painting might take you six months to a year of hard work. Once you’ve created it, it might have a legacy that lasts hundreds of years. Just imagine if someone found a copy of your book in a charity shop fifty years in the future, and decided to give it a read.
Start a Local Tradition
Traditions don’t come out of nowhere; they’re created! Local traditions offer a wide range of benefits, the main one being that they help to bring people together. Even small events, such as local BBQs or bake-offs, can bring joy to a community, though if you’re looking for something more outlandish, you could always look for inspiration for your tradition by checking out a list of Britain’s quirkiest traditions!
