You shouldn’t watch your Legacy Interview alone for the first time.
Legacy Interviews have two impactful, even joyful parts and typically has a difficult part in the middle. But the difficult part, should not dissuade you from the best part, watching the Legacy Interview with your family.
The first impactful part is the act of recording an interview. The time and focus spent thinking about what you will say and then actually recording the interview can feel exhilarating. In many cases you get to discuss things that is difficult to otherwise find the time or opportunity to really think through. The chance to capture a life-time’s worth of memories feels good.
Most people go most of their lives never being listened to, the experience of having the host pay attention to what you are saying and asking questions that allows you to express yourself is rare and joyful.
Then there is a lull period that begins the moment you finish recording. I understand the feeling of trying to remember all that you said and being nervous that perhaps you didn’t say something quite right or that the people closest to you will either not like what you said, or feel like you didn’t say enough. This is a normal feeling. I feel it literally every single week, before the podcast goes out. This is just a part of the process.
The few weeks it takes for us to edit and send your Legacy Interview can feel like a lifetime. But the time spent waiting can be valuable, because the longer you wait the more intense the feeling you will have when you watch the interview with your family.
Resist the urge to watch the interview alone. I know the urge to want to watch your Legacy Interview alone first, to make sure it will be ok- however there is something deeply meaningful in watching it for the first time with people around you that you love.
You may feel nervous to watch it without checking it first, but looking over at your children or wife as they hear the words you used to describe your memories of them, is something you can do only once for the first time. You will hear your own words in a different way than you realized you consciously meant.
Our past client’s children often write me to tell me about how moving of an experience it was to watch the night before Thanksgiving, Father’s day or at a birthday. It can be a time commitment, but families tell me often how special watching the video made the night.
Make sure to leave time to talk and explore afterwards. Your kids may have questions, your spouse may have things they want to share and everyone will want to tell more stories. The difficult part is well worth it, in order to experience watching your Legacy Interview with your family.
