There’s so much happening in the world at large, in America, and in your community that feel very high stakes—climate change, elections, tolerance. It’s a lot to reckon with.
And it’s awfully easy and tempting to wonder, But what can I do about any of it? I’m just one person. Once that thought starts swirling around in your head, it’s common to shut down around the idea that you, or I, or anyone has any influence at all over what happens.
And yet.
OF COURSE you matter. In so many ways.
When you do something with the intention of enacting positive change, whether that’s voting, or getting involved in some cause, or volunteering, or donating money, you help in the following ways:
- You help the people who directly benefit from whatever action you take
- You help yourself, because being a better person matters to you
- The people who see you or hear you talking about what you’ve done to give back benefit because you inspire them to do it too
- Your community benefits from having you as a member of its social fabric; everyone is better off when the members of a community show up and turn out
- If you have kids, your kids benefit from seeing you walk your talk, and they will be more likely to grow up and be part of the solution too
That’s five major ways that your efforts matter. When more and more of us do something to be of service, each of these five ways gets multiplied. We’re each like one drop of water that funnel together into a stream, then a river, then an ocean. No drop of water is responsible for keeping things going, but each drop of water builds momentum.
And, water is the most powerful element. Give it enough time and it can cut through rock. (If you don’t believe me, take a look at the Grand Canyon.)
If you’ve been feeling like your efforts don’t matter, it’s totally natural and not something to feel bad about. We all need reminders that each of us has more power to make a difference than you might give yourself credit for. Now let’s go use that power for good, whaddyasay?
Want to Make a Difference Using the Media?
I chatted with my friend (and Emmy Award-winning news producer) Paula Rizzo about how I got to go on my local news program recently and promote my book and podcast, How to Be a Better Person. We really broke down how I did it; and, even better, how I did it by using content I was already using. Check out the video here. And if you’ve ever wished someone could coach you through getting more publicity for something that matters to you, Paula is the real deal! Plus, she’s an absolute peach (as you’ll see in the video).
