Mediocre

[AtheistPhil]

It is not what people think of you that concerns me. I am sorry that human standards set judgment as being the tool that is used to determine popularity. As far your family remembering you, how many will? I do not know my great-grandfather he was dead before I was even alive. His memory and any memory of him will be gone with my grandfather's children. The point I'm trying to make is that you are just another face. To be forgotten or remembered, I do not know? But I'm not talking about popularity, I'm talking about the impact that you will on this Earth. A far reaching one, not just changing one life but changing them all. As far as killing myself, I could very well be someone famous, for any reason and you would not know the wiser of it. In that logic; however, we could all be. Once again it is not the fear of death that keeps me going but instead it is the fear that I don't know how my life will turn out. I could very well go on to change the Earth or I could fall in line with everyone else and become another face that passes you on the street.

So you wanna do great things ? You wanna be remembered for centuries ? You wanna be the next Alexander the great or ruler of the world or universal benefactor of this millenium ?
Well everyone wants that too ! This desire derives from human's vision of grandeur and the need for power and control. This is not very original.

But you need to know that no matter how huge and great your imprint on the world is you will be "forgotten".
Compare Alexander the great and his actions to the universe, the earth is just a speck which will be destroyed in a few billion years. Whatever you do, even if you were the ruler of the earth it would be the same problem, you'd leave no traces after a certain time. The more time passes the less you're remembered. Eventually we're all forgotten no matter what.
The only question left is: For how many years will I be remembered ?
And if you still feel like me that it's worth considering, then it means your need is indeed an instinctual need of power and domination, because if it weren't the case why would we care about the amount of years our legacy is preserved, knowing it will ultimately disappear ?

That's why we shouldn't fear that our lives stay "mediocre". Doing great things is not imperative ! It's just your personal choice ultimately. Besides there's no impartial scale to judge your impact on earth objectively. If you compare your possible heroic actions with the explosions of supernovae in the universe your actions look negligible.
But that doesn't mean you should feel insignificant. You're influencing the world every second whatever you do. And even the smallest action can change the course of the universe for billions of years. Your mere survival right now is changing the universe because you are part of it.
Don't feel sad because you're wasting your time by following everyone instead of revolutionizing the world. In both cases your changing the world, and both behaviors are equivalent. Making "great things" in your life won't make the universe a "cooler" or "greater" place. In both cases you're making what the universe is/was/will be, no more no less.

Moreover Time should not be seen as a line with the present as a point that goes forward on it. Time really is a 4th dimension. You cannot separate space and time, they're one entity.
Now when you know this the need to be remembered is meaningless.
The universe's never "forgotten" anyone !

Your great-grandfather right now don't share your angst about being remembered: he's dead ! he's been liberated from this silly fear, just like you will be.