The reason I created Better Livin Nutrition is to help as many people as possible live better, healthier lives. Part of that is nutrition and the other part is mindset, reflection, motivation, and behavior modification. There is something oddly powerful about living life with chronic disease – you can create the life you dreamt of living.

I recently read an Instagram post by Bonnie Taub-Dix RDN author, and media expert. In it, she shared a story about her first assignment as a New York University graduate student; she was asked to write her own obituary. Although it might sound morbid, she says, “Writing your own obituary in the present, can guide you on a path to a future you may not have thought about that deeply.”

As a person living with chronic disease and someone who could arguably have been close to death, I think about this very often. I haven’t written my obituary, but I do know how I want to be remembered. And I am doing a fairly good job at living that legacy. Sometimes fear gets the best of me, but I am working hard to live out my dreams.

A few days ago, in honor of International Women’s Day, my 8-year-old son wrote about strong women. I found his words very profound. He said, “My mom is a really strong and helpful woman. One day my mom had a serious sickness. She had to stay in the hospital for quite a while. She fought her way through the sickness and never gave up no matter what happened. In conclusion, my mom is the best and when me and my family fall my mom helps us get back up.”

How he even knows this, I am not sure. Although my husband has authored a book about it, “From Tragedy to Triumph,” we have not shared the details with the boys. (link to book: https://www.amazon.com/Tragedy-Triumph-courageous-motivated-gratitude/dp/1483492877). Little does he know that he was my motivation to fight and that he continues to be my motivation to be better. Just as he described, I want to be remembered as a person who fought hard for things that mattered, who loved deeply, who helped as many people as possible along the way, and who my family could always depend on.

So, I ask you this…Are you living the life you want to be remembered by? What does it mean to do that? What will it take to dig deep and go for it? Have you been open to the idea that it’s right in front of you? Consider writing down how you want to be remembered and start taking small steps to get there. I have no doubt that you’ll get inspired. One experience at a time.