My Philosophy

"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel."

-Maya Angelou

I stumbled on that quote yesterday and it immediately struck me. In a few simple sentences, my philosophy on life had been eloquently paraphrased. I've tried to live my life to make a positive difference in others lives to the best I can. It's true, the memories of what you said and did are easily forgotten. But the emotions of how you make people feel stick. There is some scientific psychology truth to this, but I won't get into that. The point is, we remember how others make us feel more than anything. If someone makes us feel like shit, we remember that for a long time, perhaps even forever in some cases. If someone makes us feel good, we spend more time with them or are willing to do more for them. We take that to heart and live by it. It's how humanity has survived and functioned to a most basic degree.

I guess if there is one thing I want to give in this life, is that when I'm gone I hope people remember that I made them feel good, or better, or postively. Something to the effect of good. Obviously, I can't please everyone and nor would I want to. But I sincerely hope that I move along in this life being a positive influence on others despite my many flaws.