How to Change the World

If someone where to ask you how you would change the world if you had the chance, what would be your answer?  Would you even have an answer?  It's ok if you don't have an answer.  Not surprisingly, the most common answer is, "I have no idea!"

If you search Google for how other people answered that question, you might not be surprised at what you find.  There are some thoughtful answers, and then there are those that are more or less thoughtless.  No real surprises. 

Maybe the reasons that question is not so easy to answer boils down to two things: the enormity of the whole idea of changing the world, and one's perspective based on their needs, experiences, and their state of life and all that involves.  Thinking about how to live from day to day is often a higher priority than figuring out how to change the world.

Despite all that is going on in and around us, we all have the ability to change the world.  It's a matter of perspective and definition.

The first step is to define your world.  Yes, your world.

Your world is a composite of your experiences, beliefs, and values.  It's a collection of thoughts and feelings.  When you become aware of your moment-by-moment thoughts and actions each day, you'll begin to see what your world is.  Most people never consider that they are creating their own world with each thought and action they take.

What are the things that interest you, concern you, bring you joy, and tweak your emotions?  Where are your passions and interests?  What is your purpose in life, and what is your vision of who you desire to become?  These are the etherial questions that should overshadow the day-to-day mundane things, but alas, that's not the way it is for many people.  Knowing this, however, you now have the ability and the awareness to shift into a higher level of thought and being.  You can now define your world.  

Your world may be a single person, a child for example.  Your world may be a cause, such as clean drinking water for people in central Africa.  Or perhaps your world is something global like climate change.  The point being is "your world" is how you define it.  It is where you place your focus and energy.

This is a critically important idea to grasp.  You have limited energy and focus, but properly applied you can create massive change in your world that creates collateral momentum in the big world that you may never have expected.  Small moves with deliberate intention create the ripples that change your world and the world of others.

Every great movement in history has begun as a thought in the mind of one person.  Think about that for a moment.  One person's energy focused on one idea or quest is how change has happened throughout history.  And in pretty much every case, that energy and focus was on something that mattered to that individual: it was a focus on their "world" at that moment in time.

Keep in mind that "your world" will touch the lives of others and interact with their world, however they define or live in their world.  Therein is where the opportunity to change the world resides.  When you change your world for the better, it changes the lives of others for the better, which changes their world.  When you have an accumulation of "their," that becomes the world.

Now that you have defined your world, the next step is to identify the "one thing" that you want to accomplish as a first step in changing the world.  Keep in mind that as you change "your world" you change "the world" by the very fact you are influencing the direction of other people's lives.  Grasp that idea!

Your "one thing" is a lot like a tiny pebble being dropped onto the surface of a calm lake or pool of water.  That tiny pebble sends ripples of change outward, which in turn produce other changes.  This is the subtle power of the "one thing."

Begin by identifying what you can do right now to set in motion the change you want to bring to your world.  That "one thing" does not have to be a monumental leap.  Be intentional and deliberate, and be realistic.  What matters to you right now that you want to change?

You may need to learn a few things in order to advance your cause.  Make that your first step.  You may need to speak with someone or a group of people about your purpose and vision.  Make that your first step.  You may need to get clear about what you really want to achieve for yourself.  Make that your first step.

Above all, know that your thoughts and feelings matter.  You are unique and exceptional in many ways.  Don't discount your desire to change the world.  Be proud of who you are and what you know right now, and know that you will become the person of your vision when you apply your energy and focus in the direction of your purpose.  

Begin that quest of purpose and vision by taking micro steps until you can take macro steps!  Every "one thing" you accomplish is cumulative and builds momentum.  It matters.  You matter.

One thought, intention, action, and step at a time, done with consistency, will change your world.  When your world changes, the World (with a big "W") changes.

As you change your world, that energy ripples outward to change the course of the World.  It's the way it works.  How do you know your change matters?  When you see someone you have influenced make a change or advance in life, you are seeing the World change for you having stepped into your journey.

Don't let the institutions of society tell you you aren't worthy, unique, and exceptional.  Don't let others pull you back into the boiling cauldron of mediocrity.  Don't get sucked into the negativity binge of others.  Identify what your world is, believe you can change it, then figure out how you want to change it.  Then do it.  Just get in motion and change one thing at a time.  Every day take a step in thought and deed.

And that's how you change the World.