We Don’t Always Know Our Impact
Everyone makes an impact in this world! It is true. Here are the pieces that we don’t always think about - the impacts that we make that we don’t see or don’t even know about. This is a topic that many of us forget about in our daily lives. It’s easy to do so in such a fast paced world. For a brief moment let us slow down and begin with a story. A dear friend shared the following.
Alan and his spouse were with some friends one night at a concert in a venue where people could dance in front of the stage. As the night went along they were having a good time enjoying themselves when Alan’s spouse saw a person in the corner who appeared to be lonely and not there with any other people. She encouraged Alan to go ask this person to dance. Agreeing with his spouse, Alan asked this person to dance. After the song they were dancing to was over, they shared with Alan that he had just saved her life. After the concert was over the person had planned to die by suicide and by Alan having asked them to dance they changed their mind.
We truly don’t know how our actions impact others. In the story above, Alan was fortunate to hear how his actions made an impact. We are not always that fortunate to hear or see, but that does not mean we have not left a mark or changed a life. Impacting people can happen in any role in our life, whether we are in a helping profession or not or whether we are directly engaged in work with people. Moments that may seem innocuous can also be of larger impact than we know. Words, actions, a smile, or a gentle presence all have potential.
Why bring this idea up? Because as the seasons begin to change now is a great opportunity to reflect on the people in our own lives that have made an impact. Who are these people? What did they do? How did they make an impact? This is also a great time to reflect on the choices we make and think about how they impact ourselves and others. All of these are heavy concepts and guaranteed to be worth your time.
One final thought. If you are lucky enough to see the impact you have made in someone’s life, cherish that and remember that by being your authentic self you have the power to make the world a better place.
Water responding to a drop of water being added.
take action today moment:
Here are a few ideas to inspire your reflections.
Tell someone how they have impacted you. Consider writing a handwritten note, calling someone on the phone, or meeting them in-person (if safe to do so) and let them hear directly from you how they have impacted your life. Email works as well if none of the other options are possible.
Create an art piece or engage in a journal activity about what you would like to give to the world. Take it a step further and be more specific. How would you like people to feel after interacting with you? Do you want people to feel inspired, uplifted, etc.?
Ask someone in your life what kind of impact that you have had on them. You might be surprised to learn something new.