Your Job Is Not to Change the World…
Your Job Is Not to Change the World… Your Job Is to Change Someone’s World
There’s a quote I keep coming back to lately:
“Your job is not to change the world..... Your job is to change someone’s world.”
It hits me because, if I’m honest, I often get overwhelmed by what’s happening out there. The news cycle feels relentless. Every headline seems heavier than the last. Wars, disasters, political chaos, suffering everywhere you look. It’s hard not to absorb it. It’s hard not to feel like the world is spiralling and I should be doing something.... anything.... to fix it.
And yet, that pressure to “change the world” can be paralysing.
I want to make a difference. I want to help. I want to be part of the solution.
But the problems feel so big, so complex, so far beyond my reach that I end up doing… nothing.
Not because I don’t care, but because I care so much that I don’t know where to start.
That’s why this quote matters. It reminds me that maybe I’ve been aiming at the wrong target. Maybe the goal isn’t to fix everything everywhere. Maybe the goal is to show up for one person, in one moment, in one small but meaningful way.
It reminds me of the story of the young lad walking along the beach after a storm. Thousands of starfish were stranded on the sand, drying out in the sun. One by one, he picked them up and threw them back into the sea.
A man approached him and said,
“Why are you bothering? There are thousands of starfish here. You’ll never save them all. You can’t possibly make a difference.”
The boy picked up another starfish, tossed it gently into the waves, and replied,
“It made a difference to that one.”
That’s it. That’s the whole point. We don’t need to save the world. We just need to help/save/change someone’s world, one conversation, one act of kindness, one moment of presence at a time.
When I remember that, the overwhelming feelings soften. The noise quiets. The impossible becomes possible again. Because helping one person? I can do that. You can do that. We all can.
And if enough of us change someone’s world, maybe, just maybe, the world changes after all.
This isn’t just true in our personal lives. It’s just as important in the workplace, how we show up for colleagues, how we lead, how we listen, how we support. Whether it’s a friend, a family member, a teammate, or someone in the community, the impact of one moment of care can ripple far beyond what we see.
Thank you for reading this.
Please feel free to add your comments and share.
Graham
NOTE: Graham is available to give talks and training on this subject and others. Please get in touch here: https://www.cedartree-mhw.co.uk/guestspeaker-gf
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