Small things / Big impact

It's easy to get caught up in thinking that the only way to make a positive impact in the world is with big goals and big actions. When we do, we forget that every day carries with it countless opportunities to make a difference - often in ways we would never expect.

I was down in San Francisco this last weekend for the wedding of my closest friend, Misa, who played a significant role in the growth (both personal and spiritual) that paved the way for my shift from an ill-fitting career path to my Passion Catalyst work.

I could probably fill a book with the ways she has had an impact on me, but one thing in particular springs to mind because of the way it planted the seed for the meaning element in the M.A.P. concept. It wasn't big. It wasn't the result of a deep conversation. It was a random comment she made while we were out on a walk one day several years go.

As we walked along, she bent over and picked up a piece of trash to throw away when we got back. "Leave the world better than you found it," she said with a smile.

She wasn't telling me that I needed to do that, she was just expressing her own philosophy. No preaching. No agenda. It was a small, off-hand comment, and the conversation quickly moved on elsewhere, but it penetrated deeply into my view of the world, and that comment has become a cornerstone for what I want to achieve in my work, and my life.

Misa wasn't trying to change my world. All she was doing was living and sharing her own values. She had no idea that it would become such an important part of my journey, but it did. It was the right comment at the right time. It was a tiny action, but it has rippled out through all the lives I have touched with my work.

As we go through our lives, small comments or small actions can reverberate in ways we would never anticipate. That could be either positive or negative (for example, the kid who is told he can't draw, and gives up any creative endeavors as a result).

The more our voices and actions align with our values and the world we want to create, the more potential there is for the small things that come out of our day-to-day existence to have a big impact on the people we encounter.

An often-cited quote from Gandhi goes, "Be the change you want to see in the world." And sometimes that is as simple as picking up a scrap of garbage. Or making a point to tell someone how fabulous you think their idea is, or that you believe in them. Or making a positive observation about something that might have gone unnoticed.

So here's a thought for you as you start off your week. As you go through each day, ask yourself, "What seeds am I planting with my words and actions? Are they the seeds I want to plant?"

You never know what good might grow from it.

--

 

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Comments

[Val]

Great read to start my week.
There are no little things. "Little things"are the binges of the universe.-Fanny Fern.
"The things we shall take with us when we die will nearly all be small things" - Storm Jameson

[Curt Rosengren]

Glad the post hit the spot for you, Val. Thanks for the quotes. :-)