New Year’s resolutions are promises or commitments that people make to themselves to improve their lives or to achieve a specific goal in the coming year. These resolutions are often related to areas such as health, career, personal relationships, and personal growth. Some common New Year’s resolutions include exercising more, losing weight, quitting a bad habit, or learning a new skill. One of the unexpected but possibly most useful ones would be about your own end-of-life plans. We discuss next the best end-of-life resolutions for the new year.
Sharing wishes & reviewing documents
The holidays are an ideal time to have important conversations with your loved ones. If you haven’t already, make it part of your resolution to discuss your end-of-life wishes with them. This way you can make sure they know how you want them to remember you. You can gather everyone and talk about these matters together.
You may also want to write down specific instructions for how you want things handled at various stages of life and death. For example, these include funeral arrangements or the distribution of property upon passing away.
Finally, make sure your will is up-to-date. Make sure you don’t put off updating any documents that need updating. And with Myend’s seamless updates, this process has never been easier.
Have a difficult conversation with someone you love
The in short you should:
- Prepare yourself.
- Be direct.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get clarification.
What if the person you need to talk to is in denial? What should you do then? Regardless of whether a person wants to talk about mortality, it’s not up to you to force these conversations to them. This is why it’s so important to have these tough conversations with each other as soon as possible. The more time we spend putting off difficult conversations, the harder they become. Especially when we finally do sit down with our loved ones and say: We need to talk…about this thing called death! You can also start these talks by asking a loved one to become you Legacy Contact.
Get your affairs in order
The first step to ensuring you have your affairs in order is understanding what it means. To be in good health, your body needs food, water and exercise; to be financially fit, you need savings and investments; and for your life’s legacy, having your affairs in order means putting legal documents in place so that people will make decisions about things like power of attorney for finances or medical decisions for when you can no longer make them yourself.
A few examples include:
- Signing up for long-term care insurance if you don’t already have it.
- Choosing an executor who would handle the tasks related to writing a will if something were to happen to me.
Make a difference: Organ Donation
Organ donation is an altruistic act that can have a tremendous impact on the lives of those who receive a new organ. But the process of organ donation also helps the donor’s family in many ways, including financial support and counseling. If you currently live in America you can register to become a donor here. Making such a huge difference is probably one of the most meaningful end-of-life resolutions we can think of!
If you want to be an organ donor when you die, let your family members know so that they can make plans for your funeral. Most people don’t realize how much help their loved ones may need when dealing with death or its aftermath. And especially not what kind of help they’ll need after the fact. In cases where families don’t think through these issues ahead of time, stress can increase exponentially. An amazing way of letting your loved ones know is with Myend’s Donor statement.
Consider your own Legacy
It’s common to reflect on our behavior during the the holidays. What if we take a step further? Your legacy is the impact you have on others. It’s not just about money, it’s about what you do with your time on this planet that makes a difference. And even though you may be gone from here someday, your legacy will live on through the people who love and cherish what you’ve left behind.
What will your legacy be? Will it be one of love, laughter and joy? Or will it be one of sorrow, pain and regret? It’s up to you. Life is like a mirror, it will reflect back to you what you put into it. So make sure that what you see in the mirror is something that makes you proud. And with Myend’s Memory Lane feature you can share the best version of your life. Fill out your timeline and make sure to ends up in your family’s hands.
Key Takeways
Good examples of end-of-life resolutions might also include things like making a will or advance health care plan. Or discussing your end-of-life preferences with your loved ones. Additionally they might help organizing your important documents and financial information, and making funeral or burial arrangements in advance.
The main takeway of this article should be making end-of-life resolutions can provide peace of mind and a sense of control over the end-of-life process.
Final Thoughts
Many people make New Year’s resolutions as a way to reflect on the past year and to set goals for the year ahead. These resolutions can provide motivation and a sense of purpose, and can help people to make positive changes in their lives. The best change you can make in your life is actually about your death. And with Myend this is finally entirely possible! You can sign up today for free and see for yourself.
