by Lisa Griffiths

Created on: March 10, 2010

Great friend...good wife...loving mother... blah, blah, blah! In order to avoid the boring drivel that is usually so carefully worded by your loved ones or friends, or even newspaper editors, you must plan and write your own obituary.

Advantages of writing your own obituary are numerous, to say the least, but one powerful advantage is to provide those who peruse this sad little part of a publication with some solid information about your

passing.

Most obituaries only touch on career or passions of the deceased, instead favoring a list of lineage that may be longer than a yardstick. In writing your own obituary, you have the advantage of providing exactly the details of specific information that you find relevant for others to read concerning your life.

It is highly advantageous to plan for what you want in your last written account. The life that you lead may other wise be overlooked or become nonexistent to those left behind.

Plus you will want to highlight the most positive aspects to provide for some comfort to the grieving. It is most helpful to look upon the good moments that occurred during one’s lifetime in order to highlight happiness.

Regardless of how bittersweet a happy memory is it is much easier to grieve with positive attributes emphasized. Especially when there may be those that hold close the very clipped obituary that was printed after your death, reading it over and over.

Additionally, for those referred to earlier whom like to peruse the deceased listings in search of someone they might know, creating an account of your life is much more interesting a read.

Prepare early by keeping notes or a diary on tasks that have been accomplished. Many people misconstrue an individual's actual important moments in life. So be clear in what mattered most as you document and plan your own obituary.

Marking monumental achievements that you wish to be acknowledged is an advantage to writing your own obituary. Perhaps the one charged with the duty of creating your final announcement won't remember that you were prized for your expertise on gardening, or secretly published a novel.

But if you are the one whom decides what is to be published upon your death, you can be assured that nothing you treasured about living will be omitted.

Don't fear being seen as egotistical for understanding the advantages of writing your own obituary. It is your life and you have every right to ensure that, in death, others read what was important to you.

Go ahead and list those you will leave behind if you must. Just try and limit it to immediate family and focus on what you want others to know when they are reading of your demise.

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