Think Small to Make a Big Difference
April 2007
A few weeks ago during a presentation on life balance, we came to the part where I ask people how they know when they're in balance. It's my favorite part. Lots of smiles always appear because the answers are usually things that feel good - sleeping well, feeling like you're in the groove, and staying focused, to name just a few.
Words and phrases are being called out, heads are nodding, and then someone said, "Feeling like I'm making a difference," and the room filled up with "Yeah!" and, "Me too!"
Then someone comments, as someone does every time ... but I can't just quit my job or take a pay cut to go work for a non-profit and I don't have enough free time to do anything on a big scale. Happens every time.
There seems to be a fairly common perception that in order to make a real difference your job must contribute to the eradication of poverty, you must have Bill Gates' (or Warren Buffet's) wealth, or have enough available time to qualify for volunteer of the year. Okay, maybe it's not that extreme, but close.
And it's so far from the truth. In fact, you can make a very meaningful difference with small actions.
Yesterday, standing in line at Whole Foods, I noticed some colorful cards hanging next to the register with $2, $5, and $10 printed on them. They're part of a micro-credit program through the Whole Planet Foundation. You choose the card that reflects the amount you'd like to contribute and add it to your grocery pile. That's an awfully small action, from both a time and money perspective. Yet micro-credit literally changes people's lives with start-up business loans that average $200, often much less. The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank for their work in this area.
How often do you get to participate in prize-winning work of that magnitude?
Once my mind got going on how small things have big impacts, all sorts of examples rolled through my head (sometimes it's a crowded place in
there :-)). The one that leapt out was an experience one of my good friends, Paul, had at Heathrow airport a few years ago.
As he was giving his luggage to the baggage handler, Paul asked how the skycap's day had been. Seems like a fairly ordinary question, right? In this case, not so. The man looked at him and said, "Thank you for asking. I've been here for seven hours today and you are the first person who has asked. Now I'm having a good day." He gave him a big smile, thanked him again and moved on to his next customer. With a seemingly small act, my friend made a big difference in someone's day. Who knows what ripple effect that might have had?
Thinking big is great except when it keeps you from taking small steps right now. If making a difference is important to you, think small and choose something you know you can do. Maybe it's a contribution, volunteering an occasional evening for a local charity you believe in, or simply acknowledging the good work of someone who might not hear it often - or ever, without your voice.
You'll touch lives, and you might find you've just lived your day the way you want to live your life.
"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."
~ Pericles
© Copyright 2007 Sherry Essig, All rights reserved. You are welcome to use this article for reprinting in any ezine, website, or print journal as long as it appears in full and you give full attribution including the website link below.
