Have you ever felt like you were too insignificant to make a difference? You may be passionate about something, driven by something, have a great desire to act, and then you say to yourself something like, who am I kidding? I’m only one little person. My family/friends/colleagues may love me, but no matter what I do it can’t really make a difference.
It’s human nature to feel invisible or even unappreciated, and we’ve probably had many examples to prove our attitudes, our feelings are justified.
However, I love a quote by The Dalai Lama that reminds us of just how powerful we really are: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”
I doubt if the mosquito looks at the large human body, by comparative standards—and asks itself if it is even worth trying to tackle this enormous project. Instead, it zeroes in on one tiny spot and zap. It makes its presence known.
I also love the quote because it reminds me that we always have the power to do something, and sometime in the process we also inspire a follower. Once someone follows the follower, well you get it, it can move on exponentially. From nothing happening, having just a grain of courage starts to make a difference.
When talking of courage I often think about the Nat Geo special I saw of a herd of Cape Buffalo cowering together while a pride of lions attacked one of their calves. Then slowly one buffalo left the herd, looked right and left to see if there was anyone joining him, and he went to the pride and started lifting them off the calf with his horns. Then a second buffalo followed. Soon the entire herd attacked the lions and they ran away.
Here are five things you can do to inspire others, regardless of where you are or who you are. Look at it as an interesting experiment while you go about your daily life, because the more you impact others the more you will be impacted by everyone around you. Allow someone’s negativity to impact you and you start feeling down. Embrace someone’s kindness and upbeat attitude and your whole day brightens.
1. Be kind to everyone you see today, even if that kindness is just a smile or hello, regardless of how they respond back. Dartmouth College did some research and found that perpetually kind people have 23% less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age slower than the average population! Christine Carter from UC Berkeley and author of Raising Happiness; In Pursuit of Joyful Kids and Happier Parents reported that people feel stronger and more energetic after helping others; many also reported feeling calmer and less depressed, with increased feelings of self-worth. And if that’s not enough reasons to put kindness on your list today (by the way which can just mean being nicer to the person on the other end of a call to your utility company after you’ve been on hold for 15 minutes) people who volunteer for two or more organizations have an impressive 44% lower likelihood of dying early, and that’s after sifting out every other contributing factor, including physical health, exercise, gender, habits like smoking, marital status and many more. This is a stronger effect than exercising four times a week or going to church, said Carter. Just showing kindness.
2. Be respectful to everyone…no horn honking, etc. It might seem the same as being kind, but it isn’t. Just treating everyone with respect can have a great domino effect whether you’re on a conference call, waiting in line for a take-out order or anything else you’re doing where you interact with others. There is a saying, “If you knew the history of those you would like to punish, you would find enough sorrow to disarm your hostility.” Whatever the situation or individual annoyance, realize how blessed you are, and choose to smile and shake your head and think to yourself, “it’s not worth it.”
3. Be persistent in your determination to find something to feel good about today. Many people are disappointed right now, whether it comes from the election, job status, health worries or a number of other things. But if we decide we will find ways to feel good today despite disappointment or worry, we have set a goal and our minds will follow.
Being persistent always pays off. Think about it, some people have probably had to endure more than we have and still found ways to overcome. When you can find ways to keep yourself motivated and going you’ll be a wonderful role model for everyone around you.
4. Be the greatest version of you today. Walk, act, smile as if you had it all. Think about it, do we wait for an occasion—the boss is sitting in on the virtual meeting—before we get out of sweat pants? Do we wait till the holidays to use china? What if we acted like we were already everything we wanted to be, and acted accordingly? Imagine how great you’ll feel when you stop pretending to be limited. Einstein said imagination is more important that knowledge, and when we link up an emotion to a belief, we make it much stronger. The rules that are in place in your life are rules you’ve created. Want to feel more confident? Ask yourself what belief is getting in the way. Remember, it’s just a belief, something you’ve thought about over and over until it had credibility, became reality. Who created that belief? When we can ferret out the voice/mentality behind the belief, then we can begin to change it. And of course our confidence and actions will inspire others.
5. Be silly and take time to play. If you’re the serious type I’m not suggesting you start wearing a clown nose or act goofy. I’m reminding you that fun and playfulness breeds creativity and answers we often don’t find in working harder. Our society tends to dismiss play for adults. There’s this belief that once we reach adulthood, it’s time to get serious. And between personal and professional responsibilities, there’s no time to play. “We don’t lose the need for novelty and pleasure as we grow up,” according to Scott G. Eberle, editor of the American Journal of Play. “Play brings joy. And it’s vital for problem solving, creativity and relationships.”
