If you want to make a difference in the world, then you have to start by making a difference in your own world.
Look, everyone wants to be popular, succeed, fall in love, have a great body, live the life of their dreams, and make it all look fantastic. In business, I’ve come to believe that things are pretty basic. Find a problem, offer a solution, and receive well-earned compensation. A + B = C.
Funny thing, though, is that life itself doesn’t always follow such an easy mathematical equation. Who does not want the easy way out? The quick fix? Everyone wants the hacks and shortcuts to a wonderful existence. Yet life itself calls and says, “Not so fast, hoss. Sit down and learn some lessons.”
Oh man, the lessons life will teach you! If you don’t learn it the first or 30th time, then that very lesson will pop up again until we get it done.
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Making a difference in your own world does call for having a little introspection. It is always nice to have some private time and make it count. People pray and meditate; others pound weights and do long runs. Find your groove and let that be your own rhythm to understanding what a difference a day makes in your world.
Go back to the equation for a minute and consider where you are trying to mathematically make sense of senseless activities. Getting stressed out has been one of my go-to behaviors for a long time. Yep, it’s been the “D” answer to the equation and it never ever helps. So why don’t I relax more? A lot of times, I am waiting for the proverbial next shoe to drop.
As it does, I cannot get out of the way. When it falls, then I have to run for the hills or find some other way to check out and not deliver what I am trying to do in life. This happens when I find things going wrong, making more bad decisions, or simply not being aware of my own surroundings.
Getting lost in the little details of my own existence means that I am not present or prepared to deal with others’ situations. I guess, in my case, I have had to spend so many years of my life dealing with other people’s stuff that I seemed to have ignored my own stuff.
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Self-awareness is kind of like a first step in growing up. “Adulting” is a difficult way to forge a path through life. When does it get easier? When you and I fully step into being an adult and grow up. It’s when you and I take full responsibility for our actions, whether in public or private and know that we have to take care of ourselves before we can even think about taking care of another person.
Do I want to have a loving relationship in my life today? Yes, absolutely. I stop myself, though, by spending too much time navel-gazing instead of stepping out and taking a risk. “What if I get hurt?” I ask myself.
Yeah, risks involve getting hurt. They are messy things. They test a person’s true passion. Risks also provide great rewards when everything clicks. It’s happened a few times in my life and, oh man, what a great feeling when the risks pay off. Sometimes, I get this weird thought that only special risk takers receive rewards while others are sent to the corner with a dunce cap.
That’s not true and, admittedly, writing it out is self-deprecating humor at worst.
The difference you and I can offer this universe totally involves our unique gifts and talents. For instance, I know some pretty incredible men and women who develop online course after online course and solve people’s problems. They are compensated well for their work, and rightfully so. I also know some people who are creative and have a business mindset that’s, to me, MENSA level. When I start looking at these people and comparison-itis hits, then I know it is time for me to step back and start doing what I am good at within my skills.
For me, it’s writing and continuing to learn about writing…whether it is an article, book, direct response copywriting, or some other form of creativity with words.
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What stirs your pot and helps you make a difference in the world today? Are you coming from a giving place more than an “I gotta get” place? Serving others is one of the highest forms of difference-making anyone can do.
Look at those who work as home health aides, nurses, or Emergency Room physicians. They do get paid for their work, yet can’t I make an argument they come from a place of service? This is not a space to get into a discussion about health care issues. I’m presenting you with just three giving-related roles people fill every single day. There are others, too.
A heart for serving people will make any person stand out. Their souls and energy are recognized by others even when they themselves have a hard time seeing anything of the sort within them. Maybe they have become too “checked out” emotionally or mentally. Maybe they just don’t care about themselves or never learned how to care for themselves in a responsible way. But their hearts are as big as a bright sunshine or a full moon.
Go within yourself, find your soul purpose, and live from that space as fully as possible every day. Who knows? Problems might just fade away.