Nobody will know who you were or what you did. In three generations from today the future Peters, Pauls and Paulas will care very little about your lifetime achievements.
That is if they even dig into your deep family history. And if they do, they’ll probably see your name and go, “oh cool”, and on the go to the next name.
However, the more likely scenario is that humans will self-destruct before we even get to that. Yeah, that’s more likely looking at how the world’s going.
But let’s keep the positive vibe going and bypass the self-destruction possibility
A generation is roughly 34 years*. Three generations from today is 132 years which takes us (well, them) to the year 2150. Doesn’t seem like that far ahead, surely someone will know about the great things you did during your time on Earth?
Let’s go back 132 years from today. It’s year 1886.
How much do you know about the fine folk living in 1886? How much do you know about your relatives kicking about in 1886? I know as much about them as I do about the person who created the rice cooker: very little.**
This doesn’t mean that my relatives weren’t good people or didn’t live a nice life growing potatoes, riding horses and just generally being cold in Finland (yet, did they even live in Finland?).
It doesn’t mean that their lives were meaningless. Who knows, maybe my great-great-great aunt was a problem solver and taught everyone in the village the secret squeeze to get more milk out of a cow. Saving the village people (I couldn’t resist) from wrist osteo-arthritis.
Maybe my great-great-great aunt was the hero of the village. Receiving an endless supply of mashed potatoes from grateful neighbours. She made a difference, in her time.
But I still have no idea who she was. To do so I would have to dig deep into the history books to see whether she gets a mention in the 1886 best-seller, You’re Doing It Wrong! How to Milk a Cow and Feed The Whole Family without Fucking Up Your Wrists.
Then again, I don’t even know her name.
The reason I bring this up
The amount of overtime and money we rake in at work doesn’t matter.
Building that extra wing in our house doesn’t matter.
The status or roles we have at work doesn’t matter.
Boosting our ego with empty Instagram likes doesn’t matter.
Being afraid of new things doesn’t matter.
Caring what other people think doesn’t matter.
Living the life to please others doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t matter because…
Unless you are doing something truly remarkable, say, be the next Gandhi or Mozart, in 132 years nobody will know your name, what you did, how you lived or the impact you had. Not. a. single. person.
Depressing? Maybe.
Liberating? You bet.
Assuming that the future people will know nothing about you means freedom. You can focus on living in now, doing the things you love.
Looking at life this way might make you think nothing would ever get done. What would the world be like if we’d all just be in it for ourselves?
What gives us meaning
I believe we have an inclination to do something positive for others. I believe most of us would feel unfilled with our lives if we’d only chase hedonistic experiences. Sure, some self-serving actions in life are nice and even justified (hello, Netflix auto-play). But excluding psychopaths, I like to believe we all have a desire to be a positive force for others.
Helping others and being part of something bigger than ourselves is what gives our lives a meaning.
***
So, let’s help people who need our help, regardless of whether it will bring us fame or fortune. Let’s start by impacting those in our inner circle.
Embrace your people, those who “get you”.
And by doing so you might make an impact, leave a legacy, change how we do things. Maybe you even start a ripple that creates a positive phenomenon that saves the Earth from human self-destruction. Sort of like my great-great-great aunt did with milking cows during that hot summer of 1886.***
Just don’t do it to stroke your ego thinking the future people will build statues and sing songs for you. Because they won’t. And it doesn’t fucking matter either way.
*How long is a generation? Science provides an answer
**Something I want to rectify. No, not the rice cooker guy/gal, but to know more about my relatives living in 1886.
*** Still, I totally made that up.