I used to think legacy was something you left behind when you died. A classic book that millions of people would still want to read decades after you’re gone. Or a service brand that transforms how delivery workers across an entire country operate and make their living.
But then 2025 came, and my life went through so many emotional ups and downs. One of them was the unexpected death of a loved one. And from that moment, my thoughts about death and legacy shifted.
Legacy doesn’t have to come with death. Legacy can be created while you’re still alive, in your attitude toward joy and sorrow, in the way you choose to face life’s difficult questions. I’ve come to understand that legacy is how you live your life – not what you accumulate or achieve.
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Your Kindness Is Your Legacy
We spend so much time thinking about what we’ll leave behind. We worry about our bank accounts, our achievements, the things people will say at our funeral. We carry this weight around like we’re building a monument that won’t exist until we’re gone.
But here’s what I’ve learned: Your legacy isn’t waiting for you at the end of your life. It’s happening right now, in this moment, in the way you treat the person sitting next to you on the bus. Legacy is how you live your life today, not tomorrow or someday in the distant future.
Every day, you’re writing your story. Not with grand gestures or million-dollar donations, but with small moments that ripple out in ways you’ll never see.
A few months ago, I was having the worst day. Everything felt heavy. I was at the hospital, my heart aching and my whole body so numb I couldn’t even cry, when a nurse in front of me turned around. She didn’t say much, just asked if I was okay and told me that I was very strong, that whatever I was going through would pass, and that she believed I had enough courage to get through it.
I think about her sometimes. I just knew her name, Vinh. Nothing else. I’ll probably never see her again. But on that day, she reminded me that people can be good. That kindness still exists.
That’s legacy. Not because she tried to create one, but because she lived in a way that made space for compassion.
When you’re kind to someone, especially when it’s hard, you’re planting something. Maybe that person goes home and is gentler with their child. Maybe they call a friend they’ve been meaning to check on. You’ll never know the full story of what your kindness creates.
One day on the bus, there was an elderly woman who seemed angry at everyone. She was scolding people for no reason, snapping at anyone who came near her. At first, I felt annoyed. It was loud. It was unpleasant.
But then I thought. “Maybe she’s suffering somewhere. In her body or in her heart”.
When I observed her long enough, I noticed her legs were trembling and shaking slightly. Joint pain in her feet. She couldn’t stand steady. That’s why she was irritated with anyone who might bump into her and make the pain worse.
I decided to move closer and help her stand steady and get off the bus safely.
She said thank you and left.
Here’s what I’m learning: You don’t have to fix everything. You don’t have to change the world. Sometimes you just help one person get off the bus without falling.
Maybe that’s a conversation where you really listened instead of waiting to talk. Maybe it’s a relationship where you apologised first. Maybe it’s just picking up trash on a Saturday morning.
Small acts compound. They spread. They give other people permission to care too.
Being Yourself Is Enough
For years, I tried to build a life that looked good from the outside. The right job. The right apartment. Enough followers on social media to feel like I mattered.
But I was exhausted. Because I wasn’t being me – I was being what I thought people wanted to see.
Real legacy comes from living authentically. From using your particular gifts, even if they don’t make sense to anyone else. From following what matters to you, not what gets the most likes. Because legacy is how you live your life authentically, not how you perform it for others.
When you stop performing and start being, something shifts. You become lighter. More present. Better able to see other people clearly, instead of just seeing how they see you.
I want to tell you something that took me too long to learn: You already have enough.
Not in a “don’t want more” way. But in a deeper way. You are enough. Right now. As you are.
When you really know this – when you feel it in your bones – everything changes. You stop hoarding. Stop clutching. Stop being afraid that someone else’s success takes something from you.
You become generous. Not because you’re trying to be a good person, but because you actually have enough to share.
The Vietnamese have a beautiful word for this: “biết đủ“. Knowing enough. Understanding sufficiency. It’s not about settling for less. It’s about recognising abundance.
When you live from this place, your legacy becomes something you give freely, not something you’re desperately trying to build.
A teacher of mine used to say that we walk on the shoulders of everyone who came before us. All the people who struggled so we could have what we have. All the teachers shared what they knew. All the ancestors who survived so we could exist.
I used to think that was just a nice thing to say. Now I think it’s true in a way that matters.
When you remember that your life is part of something bigger – part of a long chain of people and moments and miracles – you hold it differently. You treat it with more care.
👉 Try to Start Your Mornings with Gratitude…
I don’t think happiness is about being cheerful all the time. That’s exhausting and actually, so fake.
I think happiness is knowing you’re living in a way that aligns with what you believe. That the things you do match the things you value.
When there’s no gap between who you are and how you live, you can breathe. You can sleep at night. You can look people in the eye.
This is legacy too. Not the appearance of happiness, but the reality of living honestly.
Legacy Is How You Live Your Life Right Now
I’ll tell you what changed for me. I stopped asking, “What will people remember about me?” and started asking, “If I were to die in two hours, how would I want to live today?“.
Because legacy isn’t what people say about you when you’re gone. It’s the way you made them feel while you were here. It’s the small kindnesses that rippled out. It’s the moments when you choose to be brave enough to be yourself.
You don’t need a plan for legacy. You don’t need to build something big or leave something behind.
You just need to live in a way that feels true. To treat people with kindness. To leave things better when you can. To know that you have enough, so you can give freely.
Nurse Vinh probably doesn’t remember that day at the hospital. But I do. She chose to pause, to see someone struggling, to offer words that I still carry with me.
She wasn’t trying to create a legacy. She was just being herself – someone who sees people and speaks kindly to them.
That’s enough. That’s everything.
And here’s something else I’ve learned: Whether your life is smooth and fortunate, or full of challenges and tears, you can always leave a legacy. Right now.
It starts with how you choose your attitude. How you decide to respond when things fall apart. How you treat the person next to you when you’re barely holding yourself together.
Your legacy isn’t about having a perfect life. It’s about how you live through an imperfect one.
…
Your life right now is your legacy. Not someday. Not when you’ve achieved something great. Right now, in this ordinary moment, in the way you’re choosing to live.
That’s the secret. There is no later. There’s only now, and now, and now.
So be kind. Be yourself. Leave things a little better.
The rest will take care of itself.
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Today is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Sending peace, kindness, and my warmest wishes to you, whoever is reading this.
Jasmine.
☕Head to The Quieter for more articles and stories on navigating life’s most difficult moments with grace and compassion.
