It’s easy for us to get wrapped up in thinking our lives are the center of the universe. We seem big in our own eyes. We feel busy. We feel important. We feel like the world should revolve around us. But when we really step back and take a look at our lives with the perspective of time and the immensity of the universe, we discover that we in fact are quite small.
Now some take this perspective and find futility in their lives. They proclaim that everything is meaningless, throw their hands in the air, and give up all together. But you and I are meant to impact the world around us. We are each uniquely gifted in order to contribute to the world, things, people and circumstances around us.
Here are five ways you can live a bigger life and make a bigger impact.
1. Steward What You Have
Often, when we think of changing the world, we think of something beyond ourselves. But changing the world begins with stewarding the things around us in everyday life.
There is so much loving, caring, kindness and compassion to be lived out right where you are. Don’t worry about traveling the world in search of people in need. They are right here. Right now.
Greater opportunity comes on the heels of taking good care of what’s in front of you today.
Don’t go searching for the big project just because it’s big. Rather, discover the value in gradual growth. There are big lessons to be learned in the process of taking care of the small things. The lessons learned along the way will ensure that when the bigger responsibilities come, we’ve already lived through the lessons learned in the mistakes of our past.
2. Take Risk
Now, that being said, in order to have a significant impact, it will involve trying things you think are beyond your ability.
We love the safety of our systems. We work hard to build them so we are protected within the walls of “the rules.” The rules may not always look like things written on a piece of paper. Each of us has our own sets of rules we’ve constructed to help us avoid risk and protect our reputation. And putting our reputation on the line may be the biggest risk of all. But …
Accomplishing big things will often run the risk of potentially making you look like a fool.
3. Embrace Mystery
The moment we think we have everything figured out is the very moment we need to reach beyond what we know and embrace mystery. There is such value in learning to not be afraid of the unknown but to embrace it.
It’s in the unknown that we discover something new.
If we’re going to grow, we have to embrace mystery.
4. Always Learn
There have been lots of moments in my life in which I thought I had everything figured out. But eventually I discovered …
The moment I think I have it all figured out is the moment I stop growing.
Life, God, the universe … it’s all so vast. In the fifth century BC, there were guys called the Atomists. They were smart and, without microscopes, they postulated that all things were made of smaller building blocks called atoms. That was the thought for about 2,400 years until, at the beginning of the 20th century, protons, neutrons and electrons were discovered. And it was only about 40 years later that quarks were discovered. The world of science could have just stopped, saying, “Oh, we already know. Atoms are the smallest building blocks.” But science values greater discovery. We should value the same for our lives.
The people who are poised for discovery are the one who choose to never arrive.
5. Don’t Try to Do It Alone
For people who are perfectionists or control freaks or loners or scared, this last one is a doozy. But if we try to do it all on our own, our accomplishments will be as small as we are.
Our efforts will be limited by our capacity. They will reach fewer people. And they will die with us. But when we invite others into our process and lives, our dreams outgrow us and outlive us. Stop trying to accomplish everything on your own. Take a risk. Invite others in. And, together, accomplish something exponentially more effective than anything you could have ever accomplished on your own.
