When people talk about changing the world, the bar is set so high that it is little more than a daydream. But, with a more grounded context, we see that changing the world is within our reach.
Our culture celebrates individualism. We attribute the success of movements to larger-than-life figures. In order for this narrative of the remarkable individual to work, we need their impact to be legendary.
The consequence is that we overlook the many ways to change the world. We begin to believe that unless our impact is global and enduring throughout history, it doesn’t measure up or count.
So…
- we miss the day-to-day opportunities to change someone’s life
- we fail to pursue our big idea believing we may not be extraordinary enough
- we diminish our efforts and ignore our accomplishments
But changing the world is not reserved for one person doing something remarkable and enduring
It is the accumulation of many people doing many things to reshape history.
Big Picture & Little Picture
I recently came upon “the Philosophy of Charles Schulz.” He was the creator of the Peanuts comic strip. While it turns out that what follows was not, in fact, written by Mr. Schulz, the lesson is still important.
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money … or the most awards.
(Not Actually) Charles Schulz
They simply are the ones who care the most.
While we may be temporarily inspired by those larger than life characters, it is often the people in our lives who shape who we become.
Each of us carries that power to affect others.
Because of this, each of us can change the world.
This requires us to get out of the big picture, and focus on the little picture.
The first step is to abandon pre-conditions
What stops many of us from making our impact is the belief that there is some qualification we need to earn.
- To qualify, it always needs to be something like solving climate change or ending racism.
- To qualify it always has to change the lives of billions, millions, or at least thousands.
- To qualify it always has to be done by someone extraordinary. At least more extraordinary than you…right?
It’s always enormous. It’s always linear. It always neat and tidy.
But change is not linear, nor tidy. It doesn’t always start as something big.
What if you dropped those requirements? What might you be able to do?
What if it wasn’t an event but your life’s work?
- When you change the context, all of a sudden there’s no rush.
- When you change the context, you have a role to play.
- When we change the context, we stop trying to change the world by ourselves.
I’ve learned that there are a lot of ways to change the world. When I think about changing the world now, I’m realizing all the little ways I can help.
So now, I talk about what I know. I find people who want to make their impact. I stop worrying about solving the big problems, on my own, in my lifetime.
I’m choosing to make all my work an exercise in changing the world.
You can, too. To start, all you have to do is change the context, to put it within reach.
P.S. Here’s a list of the various ways I’m trying to change the world by doing work that is Super Impactful.
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