How To Change The World
Probably one of the most important things to many people is to believe they’re making a real positive difference with their time on earth.
I was reminded of this yesterday when I was talking with a client who works in IT.
Here’s a guy who has a real and genuine urge to help people and as such he’s even considering training to become a Life Coach at some point in the future.
The weird thing is, he’s already helping people and he’s already making a difference, he just didn’t realize it.
He never stopped to think that his work was helping his business and his clients in a positive way.
He was providing a needed service and as such allowing businesses to function more effectively.
He wasn’t doing his job just to collect his pay check at the end of the month. He was doing it because he loves solving business problems and helping others.
I had a similar conversation a year or so ago with my wife. She felt like she wasn’t making a big enough difference in peoples lives.
When I tell you she has been an oncology nurse for over 20 years, won the highest award at her hospital for going above and beyond the call of duty, and has had literally dozens of letters of thanks from grateful patients, like I was you may be thinking, WTF???
There are now more than 7 billion people on this planet and it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, or how much money you have, you cannot positively effect all 7 billion.
Therefore, it becomes a numbers game of how many is enough? And that unsettles me, because like financial goals that can easily lead to frustration and disappointment.
Today you have the chance to change the world, in fact you have no other option. It’s just a question of how you change it.
You can do your best work creating win/win situations, you can smile more and you can be more tolerant of others.
But most of all you can be kind to every person you meet, (including yourself).
Because kindness really does change the world.
“Be kind whenever possible – It’s always possible”
– The Dalai Lama
You may not see what you did on the evening news or win a humanitarian award. But that’s just ego stuff because you know you made a difference and that’s all you can ask of yourself.
PS. My free ebook and audio on meditation is now finished and I’m hoping to get it out to my newsletter subscribers this week, so if you’re not signed up, now’s your chance!
We can make a difference in people’s lives from wherever we are. No matter how small, we need to positively affect people’s lives. I like it when you say we don’t need to be recognized on TV but we should do the little we can.
i agree with Mary, it can be hard to be kind to yourself…and happiness starts with a happy person
its reflected in the way someone carries themselves/smiles/talk and vibe
thanks
Great article. I just left my job for a number of reasons but one of them was it just wasn’t fulfilling anymore. I was doing valuable work teasing the Chief Executive (I was his PA & we got on very well)
I could see value in what I was doing, but I think I was temperamentally unsuited to being an “office junior”. It caused me considerable distress including, I suspect, being factor that caused me to relapse with mental illness for the first time for 12 years (don’t worry I controlled like a pro! Better than a pro,actually).
Actually I was the Office Manager, but the most junior member of staff and with little ability to make a difference. Except via my boss (the Chief Exec) who I continually make suggestions to. Many of which were taken up and he wants to keep in touch.
yeh, well you do need to feel fulfilled, so well done for leaving.
But we’d all be so empowered and in action…
Or trying to get each other to act ;-)
I’m messing with you, I agree of course!
Hey Tim,
Thanks for this article, which I can definitely feel from your heart.
Have you considered the view of the Universe as a hologram? I am a big fan of A Course in Miracles, and there’s a beautiful quote in that book – “When you are healed, you are never healed alone.”
It is my belief that every time we heal an aspect of our self, we are also through the hologram healing something for thousands of other people, through the collective unconscious mind. And that as more and more of us are doing this, global consciousness really is evolving … in the direction of healing.
Do you have any thoughts on this?
cheers,
Erika Awakening
To be honest I’m skeptical because by definition wouldn’t that mean, every time you harmed yourself you were harming 1,000’s of other people?
Fantastic post! Imagine a world with 7 billion life coaches. Or financial planners. Or oncology nurses. You change the world by being yourself and contributing in your own way. We’re each a little pebble making ripples…every now and then there’s a big rock, but for the most part, pebbles.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” —Rumi
I dunno about 7 billion life coaches mate, we’re all a bit opinionated ;-)
Love the Rumi quote.
:-) I grew up with my Grandma always telling me to do what I could without expecting returns (Wait – don’t raise that eyebrow – you know what she meant!)- in the sense – if we did someone a good turn, it wasn’t necessary that they should reciprocate. We get our returns from somewhere – it all balances out in the end! In the same way, she had this policy about people who did us harm. “Don’t think of revenge”, she would say. There’s a higher power that takes care of balancing that nasty equation. I was (not a)bit skeptical about it – but as I grew up, it seemed logical. At least it kept me cool through most situations. Today, I am inclined to believe she had a serious point. :-) I don’t keep score.
My Ma taught me there’s “God” in everyone – which essentially boils down to your post :D Thank you for a delightful read.
A very wise lady, sounds like Karma to me!
Hi Tim,
Oh, I LOVE this one. People ask me all of the time, what is my Life Purpose? And while yes, I can find this out on the soul level, a lot of times they are surprised by the answer because they thought they didn’t know what the heck it was, and were searching and searching, only to find out that they were doing it already!
You are living your purpose with each breath you take. It’s the thing that comes naturally, brings joy, makes the time fly by, helps people, where you are in the groove and “just being you.” That is your Purpose.
That’s a good point. I thought sales sucked, but maybe it was just a sucky part of a bigger picture and I had to go through that to get here?
Well yes, that’s true, too. You maybe didn’t “have to” but that was the route you took, and if you didn’t take it you would not be here. So there’s that.
You are right, the hardest part is being kind to yourself. There is so much to do, so much need, so few people who are helping. So forgiving yourself for being human, is tough.
We can do tough ;-)
It’s a beautiful post – how many people are there who beat themselves up unnecessarily because they think they are not doing enough good work in this world? It is great to be reminded that being kind and helping people as best as we can may be good enough, even if our actions don’t impact every single human being on this earth.
But on the other hand it would also be unfair to always dismiss people’s desires to change their jobs because they want to do more beneficial deeds. Some people work in jobs that are badly mis-aligned with their values – either the company or other institution they work for violates in some way what they think is good and right, or the specific activities that their job requires may seem pointless, or even wrong in a moral sense. Sometimes, being a kind and helpful person is not enough in order to feel that we’re doing meaningful work, and there’s really something to be gained from changing jobs or switching careers.
I think what I say here is commonplace, but the specific vocabulary to talk about it (mis-aligned values) I have from Tim. :)
Perhaps all of this is not an issue for the IT guy mentioned in the post. He might be fortunate and work for a company he can identify with and perform mostly tasks whose purpose is not questionable. I hope so for his sake!
I don’t disagree with that at all Leo and we can help ourselves by doing whatever we can to help others, even if we’re in a job we don’t love or don’t even like.
I often ask clients a re-work on the love the one you’re with lyric which is “Would you rather do a job you love or love the job you do?”
The answer is usually a bit of both. I wished I’d known about values 10 years ago!
There is a phrase that is often used to deride teachers – ‘those that can – do, and those that can’t – teach!’ But a good teacher can shape the future for generations to come. The people who win Nobel prizes do not have that goal in mind when they do their work – nor do Mother Teresas work towards sainthood. Simple acts of kindness change history.
Agree entirely Sara!
I think this speaks a lot to our inability to be content as well. No matter who we help or what we achieve as soon as we have it, we move the bar again and we are right back in thinking that we have not arrived yet! We can be pretty off in our own thinking, can’t we??? (…and you are right, as a nurse myself I know your wife is doing beautiful things for others everyday!….but is resetting her bar after each win! Thank her for me!) http://keynoncoaching.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/lessons-we-learn-about-contentment/
I will do, thanks Kathy!
You may wonder if you can change the world like the great leaders in history. Remember that these people started out with dreams, just like you, and worked through insecurities, fear and doubt..
Sell said!
Tim, bravo! You have articulated something which has been bothering me for a while.
Just how much of a difference can one make to the world? What’s enough? And where does one stop?
Yes, it’s not about accolades or acknowledgement – it’s just about being kind to others and smiling as much as you can.
That’s clearly enough. So I’ll give up my illusions of the Nobel Peace Prize and just continue to be me – and make a difference to my clients, readers, followers, friends, family and people in my communities.
Best of all, I’ll stop beating myself up for not doing enough for others :-).
Nothing wrong with grabbing yourself a Nobel Prize along the way Arvind!
And I know you know this, but it’s not attaching ourselves to the numbers, but just doing what we can.
Beautiful post Tim.
It’s true, we all change the world and it can be done in positive ways. It all depends in how we create that change, how do we feel about it.
If you do your work, with kindness and good intention, you are already doing your part.
Life coaches may be able to interact directly with people, but that doesn’t mean a writer, engineer, actor, chef or any other profession does the same.
It all comes from within us. :)
Exactly!
And I think we’re slipping onto the Eightfold Path here with right intention and right action, and that’s never a bad thing.
I’ve come to the conclusion that helping people and making a difference is not necessarily a goal for many people, but a byproduct of living their passion. I’ve spent years beating myself up for failing at finding something I could do that would serve the greater good, only to realise that it was how I was living my life that seemed to be helping people (a small number admittedly but helping them nonetheless). While we might all wish to be Mother Therese, perhaps that just isn’t possible. What matters is that someone somewhere says “Thank you. You’ve made a difference to me.”
And I’m very grateful for that Karen, thanks for saying so, I appreciate it :-)
One other thing Karen. Amazing though Mother Theresa was, I doubt she impacted more than 0.01% of the worlds population. But she did ok, right? ;-)
We are always making a difference, and where to look is how not if, and definitely not to how many! I keep my eye on who’s in front of me today? How can I make a difference for that one person? And then the next one and so on.
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible…I could use a little more of that kindness to myself!
You don’t strike me as somebody who gives themselves a hard time.
I here by give you the day off from doing so and I’ll do it for you!
I couldn’t agree more. I find it interesting how fascinated (and inundated) we are with big numbers and how it supposedly correlates to more value. Bigger numbers = bigger difference.
I can’t help but see it specially in the online space, such as:
“….fastest site to reach 10 trillion unique visitors in a single 30 second moment.”
Obviously I’m stretching those numbers ;-) but you get the point. It’s then “social proof” it’s supposedly valuable. Seems as if we’re programmed to think bigger numbers mean the better quality and value. That’s when the “comparison game” starts.
However this is when it’s most important to be kind & gentle with yourself. You’re on YOUR path no one else’s.
I love what Wayne Dyer said: An Orange is an orange. When you squeeze it you don’t get prune juice.
Know thyself, be thyself and love thyself.
Wonderful message Tim.
10 trillion unique visitors in a single 30 second moment was my goal and I fell short by just 6 people.
I feel so worthless now ;-)