Making a Difference

Is it really possible for us to make a difference in the world?

I am frequently challenged by people who believe that their small act won’t make a difference in the world. What they fail to see is that big differences happen, not because one person made a big difference, but instead because one person took action and then another and then another. It’s the little things that make a big difference. Although some things seem small, imagine this for a moment…

Did you know that more than 60 Million plastic bottles are thrown away into landfills every day? That adds up to about 22 billion per year.  Yet, with just a very small amount of effort on our part, these bottles could be recycled instead of going into our landfills and our rivers and streams. Imagine the difference that single act can makes. Yet, I frequently hear people tell me how silly it is that I recycle, because the problem is so big how can that little effort make a difference.

But let’s take this one step further and consider this. A person is having a bad day, in fact their day is going so bad that they plan to go home and commit suicide. As you pass by them on the street you notice them and say a kind word, you greet them with a smile and wish them an awesome day. And, in that moment you caused that person to rethink what they planned to do and they don’t commit suicide. You may never know that you kindness saved their life, but does that invalidate your efforts?

We never really know how our actions will affect another person, either positively or negatively, but what we do know is that our actions do affect people every day and our planet every day. Simple things like allowing a truck or car to move in front of you in a traffic jam, or greeting someone and truly taking a moment to care about how they are feeling. Sometimes it is the simplest things that make the biggest difference.

I love doing random acts of kindness, it’s those little things that add up and make a difference in the world. Remember your small act of kindness, may seem small, but what if that person went on to have a better day and was inspired because of you to make a difference in someone else’s life and what if that person did the same, and so on and so on. The ripple effect of what we do in the world is not realized for the most part, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

Just like the plastic bottles that are floating in our river, streams and oceans. It doesn’t seem like much when we drop that single plastic bottle, does it? Yet the ripple effect of not caring enough to recycle that bottle can be immense to our eco-system.

I regularly hear people looking to find their purpose in life and although I believe we all have a purpose, I also know that the outward appearance and size of our purpose may not be so big that we become famous, yet may actually do more good than what someone who is famous does.

In my opinion what is most important is to be consciously aware as we take actions throughout our day, to be kind, to be loving, to listen and to be aware of our footprint and if our purpose is bigger than that, we’ll find that too.

I’d love to know, do you believe you can and are making a difference in the world? And, what things do you do that make the biggest difference. Please share your stories and ideas for making a difference in the comment box below.

And, here is my challenge to you. I challenge you to perform a random act of kindness every day for the next 30 days and see how you feel at the end of that 30 days. Then come back here and share your stories and inspire others to do random acts of kindness as well.