But What Difference Can I Make?

When we see many of the problems around us in the world it is easy to be overwhelmed and think “What Difference Can I Make?”. The question makes sense as the problems we see are so huge and by ourselves we are just one person. We can understand better how to be difference makers through the book, The Power of One: How One Person Can Make a Difference. The book is co-authored by BJ Gallagher and Steve Ruttenberg. BJ Gallagher is an author and motivational speaker and Steve Ruttenberg is a entrepreneur.

By reading the stories, quotes, and poetry they have compiled, your eyes can be opened to the power you have to make a difference in the world around you. We can’t solve all the world’s problems but if we are open and willing, the stories here show how we can impact our surroundings by doing something instead of giving up. An important quote given to remind us of this is: ”The purpose of life is not to be happy—but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference, that you have lived at all.” (Leo Rostin, Polish-born Writer). Thinking of the quote I would add that your happiness quotient will increase as you desire to make a difference in other people’s lives.

The stories provided in the book show how by a simple smile or an act of kindness can make a difference in another person’s life. Some of the stories show how one person’s actions can have an exponential effect on many people’s lives. The consequences of what we do can have positive impact on other’s lives. Another quote they include in the book speaks to this. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” (William James – philosopher and psychologist). If we keep open to the needs around us and living out kindness and generosity we will be surprised how often this James quote comes true in our life journey.

Reading the Power of One, as I read the stories of single individuals making an impact of the world reminded me of one of my favorite, one person making a difference stories. I have mentioned the story before of Jon Sundt who is the founder of the organization, Natural High, which encourages young people to discover natural passions in their lives so as not to fall into the drug scene. Thinking of the Power of One, Jon’s organization was created out of sorrow and grief in the early 1990’s. He had lost his two younger brothers to drugs and wanted to make a difference so others would not have to endure the pain his parents and he went through. Instead of being stuck with the question “But What Difference Can I Make?” he became a difference maker by doing something. You can go to naturalhigh.org for more of the story and see what this great organization does in schools across the country.

Natural High finds musicians and sport stars to share their passions or natural highs. These stories can motivate young people to move away from the lies of the drug world that tells them to enjoy life you need to smoke, snort, or shoot to get high. Instead they can learn how to enjoy life in drug free ways. As a counselor I have used their videos with all age groups to encourage people to look for their own natural highs for a better life. Here is a sample of their videos that can be seen on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRW_-dDKnkU If you know an educator or school counselor k-12 let them know about Natural High.

Another important quote from BJ Gallagher and Steve Ruttenberg’s book is “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” (Anne Frank – diarist). Realize that you have power in yourself to make a difference in the world around you. It may be as simple as smiling at a cashier to brighten someone’s work day. It may be posting a positive quote on Facebook or Twitter to make other people think positive. Or it may be the start of solving a problem that may affect thousands if not millions of people. Move beyond being stuck on the question - What Difference Can I Make?

Reflection: Think back to a time when you made a difference in someone’s life? What is your favorite story of someone making a difference in the world? What is one way you can make a difference using your power of one today?

How Do You Make a Difference?

Part of living a better life in our pursuit of happiness is making a difference. Our purpose driven nature that has been placed in us, pushes us to make a difference in the world around us. Without making a difference we boringly find ourselves fulfilling the description by Henry Thoreau that we are living, “lives of quiet desperation”. A world full of people in our world of work and relationships in our social life means that our difference making is often people oriented. The question is how do we make a difference?

I just finished the book Making a Difference by Being Yourself , by Gregory Huszczo. He is a professor at Eastern Michigan University in their Business Management program as well as being a consultant and leadership coach. What drew me to the book is that he focuses on making a difference by first knowing our strengths. He encourages the reader to explore their personality type based on the Myers-Briggs assessment. Each of us have unique strengths that relate to our personalities and as we know ourselves better we can tap into these strengths to make a difference in our work and relationships.

The book also points out that we make a difference through our abilities which relate back to the personality strengths. If you are an extrovert you have that natural social ability to go the extra mile in helping others. Or you may be a high Sensing type that is great with details so you can help in guiding people to look at the steps they need to take in fulfilling their dreams. We improve in our making a difference the more we understand ourselves.

Also in making a difference we need to consider our motivations. That can affect how we come across in our interactions. If my motivation to serve is simply for what I can get out of you, people will see through it. For example once when I was a student in a Bible College in Chicago, I volunteered at a group home for troubled boys. It was a time of mentoring and I was working with a 12 year old. I remember the first meeting with the boy as he said “are you like the guys from Church X who are just trying to get us to go on their bus Sundays?” Especially young people can see through false motivations where they are just a statistic instead of a person to be cared for.

The author also mentions that we need to consider how the opportunities we have had in our lives can affect in how we make a difference. Some of those opportunities as I look at it may have been difficulties we have gone through. Difficulties and hardships strengthen us so we can be more empathetic to others going through hard times.

If you are interested in knowing your personality type better there are a couple things you can do. You can go to a local Counselor who can take you through the MBTI. Or there are a couple of helpful websites. The first I will mention is: www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html This link takes you to a page where you can look at descriptors to estimate your type. Then you can read more about the type descriptions. Another helpful page is www.humanmetrics.com which in the top left hand of the webpage offers a free Jung Typology test, (the MBTI is based on the work of Dr. Jung). It takes about 10-15 minutes to do the test and then you can read a report where you can reflect on your unique strengths that come from your personality.

Back to making a difference. The book I mentioned is about looking at how you have made a difference in your work situations and how you can continue in new ways to make a difference. Don’t forget to look into your social relationships as well, understanding in making a difference, it is better to be a giver than a taker. By understanding yourself better you can better learn to find new ways to be a giver in social settings even outside of close friends. Again thinking back to my life at the Chicago Bible College, Moody Bible Institute, I had a fellow student who was complaining about how rude and unfriendly the workers were at the bank nearby and stores in Chicago. I had never had this problem. I always smiled at the bank tellers and thanked them for their help and always had a positive reply back. I then noticed this student in his interactions at stores and restaurants came across stern and matter of fact. So I thought to myself, was the problem the bank teller or store clerk or was it the customer with a stern look? Act friendly and most of the times you get friendly back.

Reflection: Write down a couple of sample events when you felt you made a difference in your workplace be as detailed as possible. Do the same for a couple of social settings either with friends or maybe an interaction at a store -- again being detailed as possible. If you took the time to do the personality type exercises do you see any of your strengths shining through the details of your making a difference? Write down one new way you could make a difference either in your work or social relationships.