I've been thinking about this a lot. Some days more that others but the questions I ask myself are "What does it mean to 'make an impact'?", "How do I know whether I've made 'enough' impact?", "What is it actually that I want to impact?", etc.
I recently had a light bulb 💡 moment and instantly understood* what 'making an impact' means to me.
But before I share it, I'd like to ask you the same questions. How do you define 'impact'? I'm excited to read your comments.
Edit: I've published my perspective as well.
* Right now at least. This will probably change when (if) I get wiser :)
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash.
Top comments (18)
Impact... I would say recognising that my work, be it a service, product or as skill as giving directions.
There are times when because of my ambition/ego I feel I'm not doing enough for the people around me and the word, and that I have the potential to do so much more. But for the most part, I get satisfaction from the little things, I gave a sad friend a hug, made, made a joke that made someone laugh, a client loved my work.
I walk around thinking people might be depressed and not showing it, a positive interaction with me might save them from suicide.
Really nice way to put it. Sometimes a lot of these small, joyous moments happen so quickly that we don't even realize it. But it warms ones heart when he/she looks back and remembers it. Then it suddenly becomes so valuable.
Being positive is a choice. One chooses to meet people with positivity and care. There are tough days as well but going through them with even a little bit of positivity can have a huge difference.
The part about having the potential do to much more is way too familiar to me as well. I feel the same sometimes and ask myself what exactly is it that stops me from doing it. I think one part of the answer is not having people around me who share the same vision for whatever it is I would like to achieve. That makes it hard to get motivated. Need to work on this a bit more :)
I put care to the things that I do whether it is code, washing dishes, building a fence, buying stuff that lasts (although electronics can be a bit hard, one of my monitors just failed...). Optimally the thing I do as my job would also have a positive effect, for example an environmentally friendly company would be a great find.
So I think just doing the right thing will give an impact however tiny the individual contributions are.
Doing things with care and enjoyment can be great. It also brings positivity to ones life. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
I used to think I needed to be some famous software developer so I could leave my mark on the world. Nowadays, I've realized that raising my kids to be good people is how I want to impact the world. That, and just being kind to everyone, regardless of their attitude towards me. The world could use some kindness and forgiveness these days.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. That's an amazing way to put it! I have two kids myself and can relate to your words.
Best question ever - I am here on a mission to bring heaven to earth and I can see how humanity is re-inventing all systems, top to bottom, and I know EACH one of us has a role to play in this great mosaic of emerging consciousness.
Making a change is this
Then I am always guided towards doing what I need to do - my part. As I said everyone has a part. I don't take any jobs to make ends meet because I believe that when I follow my true soul purpose I am always supported. So far it's worked well, 2 years and counting. I am working on a new financial system that will provide an alternative to the debt based lack based existing system.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
So you know you're making an impact as long as you're being yourself and work on the things you believe in will benefit humanity. Is that correctly understood?
These days, I'm more concerned with how much I can enable others to enjoy a decent standard of living.
I look to people like my boss who has a bunch of people on his payroll, who has put together a sustainable system where people can contribute time and labor in exchange for compensation and other benefits that will allow them to put food on the table, put their kids through school, go to the movies, enjoy a beer, etc.
There are billions of people out there that may not get to enjoy the same standard of living that we get to enjoy for various reasons, some of them right in your own community. So the question is, what can I do to give others an opportunity to get ahead? What can I build? What can I offer?
I think one's contribution to society, whether it's the one around you or the entire human civilization as a whole, is how you would measure your impact. You don't need to change the world, it can be as simple as giving one or two individuals an opportunity to achieve great things.
Really well said 👏
Thanks for the thoughtful question! I think in this industry it's easy to be jaded about the "change the world" front of large corporations that are only using kindness as marketing.
But as individuals I do think we can make an impact, and to me a good impact is any action I can take that will make another persons life better. Every day we make decisions that have impacts, large and small, positive and negative. It costs us very little to try and be mindful of the wake we leave behind for others. I think the reason this community thrives so much is because people believe they can make an impact by engaging with it. So find something you love, and share that joy with others.
Destroy something with something else.
Yes, that sounds negative. Something that makes an impact replaces something and affects surroundings, quite often not in a good way. But sometimes you need to burn a house down.
I can be wrong about wanting to make an impact myself. But Making An Impact for me can mean two things.
But as I said, it might be bad to focus on making impact, as I also have a duty to do societal work and retain the system. My career is a doctor, and coding is near-zero help. (I actually use coding to learn languages, and writing blog, both as hobbies.)
I also, when I say change, it can be both good or bad, and might not even be unanimous. It might be counterproductive to try to change the world for the better, after all. It is near impossible to do better than human nature. Also, there might be other better things you had better been doing.
Trying the change something is just boosting your ego.
Being part of an amazing project directly or indirectly impacting the life of many people. Helping someone learn a topic. Creating/authoring something worthy of feedback from my peers.
when someone acknowledge you maybe like wesbos mention you in the youtube or somebody nominate you to be github stars so you can get free github swag
'Be yourself' is for me how I make impact.
Be yourself. It sounds simple but can be quite difficult sometimes. Keep doing it :)
What is it about yourself that you think makes the most impact? Are you working hard to achieve something, caring passionately about someone/something, or something else?
That's a great aspiration! Keep doing what you find valuable. The people that you care about will appreciate you for that.