“Making a difference”, “saving the world”, “doing something meaningful”… however you think about the big things in life that you want to do, they can seem daunting. They can also seem pretty vague.
How do you “do something meaningful”? Where do you start? Do you need to grow old and wise before you can identify what’s meaningful, or is it a matter of chance?
How do you choose a problem to tackle? There are so many things wrong and so many people suffering. You have only to read to the news to see how bad it is. There are wars and famines, climate change, deforestation, and the list goes on and on.
How do you know if you’re spending your time doing the right thing — the thing you’re supposed to do? What if you waste your whole life doing something that doesn’t matter in the end? Or worse, what if you end up making things worse than they were before?
These kinds of questions (fears, really) can stop us in our tracks and keep us from doing anything. I know. I’ve been there, and I still have days when these uncertainties give me pause.
Here’s what I think I know: you learn how to make a difference by trying to make a difference. It’s something you learn on the job, not by stressing about it alone in your room.
So first, relax. You’re going to be fine. Take a deep breath and just choose some way to contribute. Find a local non-profit that needs volunteers. Go help build affordable housing. Volunteer in your kid sister’s classroom. Whatever you choose, your participation will make a difference, and you’ll learn what you like and what you’re good at.
As you learn and gain experience, you’ll begin to see new opportunities. You’ll have greater capability and more skills to offer. It’s a spiral of progress where each time you try something new and stretch yourself you’ll rise higher and have greater insights about what to do next.
Eventually, you’ll start to see things clearly enough that you won’t be as concerned about what you should be doing. You’ll see what needs doing and you’ll be equipped to do it.
