3 Reasons to Help Others Create Their End Of Life Plan

Sean Grant|

Why is End Of Life Planning Important?

Most people view end of life planning as something of a reaction. 

Thus, end of life planning is seen as something that has to be done in relation to a good or bad event. 

Won the lottery and want to make sure your loved ones get your inheritance? Get your will completed. 

You’ve been diagnosed with a serious health condition which risks future decision making? Get your power of attorney drawn up.

Seen what happens when someone dies suddenly and a big mess is left behind? Start to make a dent in tidying up your own affairs  

But what If I told you things didn’t need to be like that? 

End Of Life Planning Helps Reduce Stress

One of the most fulfilling things you can do is take care of your loved ones. 

So why not make things as easy as possible for them when you pass away? 

When you die, your loved ones will be feeling a mix of emotions, sadness, grief and even fear. 

But what you can do to help relieve that sadness and anxiety is to have completed your end of life plan for your loved ones to refer to. 

You can ensure all the essential financial documents are sorted. 

You’ll be able to guide your loved ones on how you’d like your funeral to run. 

And the best part, you’ll be able to leave special notes or gifts that your loved ones will cherish. 

Take away the anxiety of important decision making being left to loved ones when you’re gone. 

Use this time to ask yourself ‘how can I make things as easy as possible for those I care for the most?’

Once all the nitty-gritty important documentation is out of the way, an end of life plan can be fun! 

What’s that favourite song of yours that the whole family knows about? That’ll sure bring a few smiles if it’s playing at your funeral. 

Have any funny stories that stand out to the rest? Write them down and pass them along to the family members they relate too, they’ll keep it forever. 

End Of Life Planning Is Good For The Environment 

By making a good end of life plan, you can prepare in advance how you’d like your body to be put to rest. 

Burials are on average 10% worse off for the environment than cremations, so that can be something to think about. 

Or, if you prefer burials, you could put in place instructions for making it eco-friendly, using green embalming methods for example, or no embalming at all. 

The point being you’ll be able to take full control of how to deal with your body after death. 

You’ll be able to do research online, speak to funeral directors and look around to find your preferred method. 

At any rate, you’ll be able to decide how your body is put to rest, instead of someone else doing it for you. 

End Of Life Planning Promotes Mindfulness 

End of life planning can be an extremely fulfilling and emotionally beneficial exercise. 

Whether it’s talking to your family about personal subjects, looking for ways to enhance your legacy or even helping others create their end of life plan, it’s an area that can promote great levels of mindfulness. 

One of the best features of helping others create their end of life plan is knowing that your knowledge and expertise will most likely be passed along to others. 

All it takes is one person to have a fully completed plan to make a real impact. 

You’ll feel a sense of fulfilment and internal mindfulness, knowing that not only are you helping one person, but that person will intend to help their family/friend circle. 

Talk about leaving a legacy! 

Getting Started Today

If you’d like to learn more about End of Life Planning and go even further by helping others to get theirs completed, sign up here for our free info session and learn how to help others prepare well for a good death. Check it out here. 

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Use the Before I Go Method to create an End of Life Plan in 10 straightforward steps – without losing focus and giving up!

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Ask What Their Understanding Of The Situation Is This is an obvious question when you think about it, but it is very often overlooked in these days of the medicalization of dying and death. The more common situation is that someone is told what is wrong with them, and assumptions are made as to what this means. In particular, the assumption that the patient wants to be kept alive (sometimes at seemingly all costs) can often get in the way of what that person may actually want. As a relative or friend, you may be in a better position to simply ask ‘what do you understand is happening to you?’ When I asked that of a friend who was dying in 2014, she said she knew she was coming to the end, and she accepted that. But she wanted her body to get a move on – she was finding the slowly drawn out nature of her death to be quite a challenge. She was also quite clear she wanted a certain medication to be stopped, and another started. Finally, she told me she had said all that needed to be said, and that she was ready to go. This conversation helped me to be with her during this time. Be Willing To Accept What Is Happening To Them It can often be the case that family members are the ones who are most distressed about their loved one dying. Hence the ironic situation sometimes heard of when the one who is dying ends up comforting the one being left behind. It can really help a dying person if you are able to simply acknowledge anything they want to say, accepting it without denial. This means you will have to come to terms with it yourself, putting their needs ahead of yours. It’s not uncommon for those who are closest to the dying person to actively want them to die, so that their suffering is ended. I remember simply wanting my late husband to be out of pain, and free from a body that just was not working any longer. I knew it would be difficult for me without him, but when you love someone, you don’t want them to be suffering, even if it means it will be harder for you. Listen For The Metaphors Often a dying person will ‘give a message’ to a close loved one, in such a way that only that person can understand it. Iit is often a message demonstrating their understanding of what is happening. Because I had read lots of stories of this happening, I was very aware when Philip told me he wanted to watch what had been his favourite TV show, Countdown. By this time he had been in hospital for 6 weeks, and had been told there was nothing more that could be done. He was too ill to be moved, so we knew the end was coming soon. He said he wanted to watch Countdown, a popular British programme focusing on numbers and word games. Wanting to watch TV at all was very unusual as he hadn’t requested this for the whole of the previous weeks. But when I heard that he wanted to watch ‘Countdown’, I knew he was telling me that he was ‘counting down’. I found this to be very comforting – the fact that I knew he knew what was happening helped me to be calm for the next couple of days as he became weaker and weaker, less awake and unable to speak. This is a time for tenderness, open hearts and respect shown to all concerned; and it is made easier when we are able to talk honestly and openly about dying, about death and about grief. It is only when those topics are forbidden in some way, or that we are frightened of them, that problems arise. Naturally conversing in this way is part of a good end of life, and part of any plan that is made for that end. I go into this in much more depth in my book, Before I Go, inviting you to start conversations now about this subject, regardless of whether you are caring for someone who is dying or not. The more we become comfortable with this kind of conversation, the easier it will be to accept what is the one thing that will happen to us all. Learn More If you’d like to learn more, and get your End Of Life Plan completed (If you haven't already) check out the Before I Go Method here. Also, if you’d like to check out my book Before I Go, you can do so by clicking here.

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