Making A Difference
Have you ever been in a situation where you just know there has to be a change, but you’re not sure how to either make the change yourself, or even contribute to the change?
Maybe you’re at work and you can see that the processes that worked a few months or a few years ago aren’t as effective any more. There are lots of stories like that. Companies go through this on a regular basis, and if they don’t improve their processes to stay competitive, they may go out of business.
That’s how it works in the business world. Companies either evolve and grow, or they wither and die. In successful companies, the leaders help to create a message that the rest of the employees can understand and work toward. In extremely successful companies, each employee understands that they have a role in making that company successful and they do their part because they feel engaged and understand that their efforts make a difference.
Companies can also become successful again after a period of being unsuccessful. If the task is undertaken to create a clear message that each employee can understand and realize they are an active participant in the company’s success, the company can and will turn around and return to success.
I don’t want to talk about business any more but it serves to create background for my thoughts. Right now, I feel like a conscientious worker in a little company called “Humanity”. I can see a lot of the problems that are going on with this company. It seems like all of our actions are based on creating profits for the company, but with no regard for the community as a whole. We create food products with no nutritional value, then advertise them as if they are good for you. People eat these food products and the dis-ease statistics keep climbing. We have a health care system that focuses on treating symptoms instead of trying to find and treat root causes. In the community where I live, and this is a fairly affluent community, 9% of the community uses the local food bank. I’m pretty sure our governments are just as aware of the problems as I am, but with big money being spent by lobbyists to hide the truth, the truth seems to be getting lost. At the moment, it doesn’t feel like this “company” is being very successful. And if we don’t change the way we’re doing things, then I don’t even want to think about how low this “company” could go.
But I love this “company” and I think it can be great again. And I am going to do my part to make a difference. I don’t know exactly how it will turn out but I can’t sit back and watch without getting involved in a much bigger way.
I keep asking myself why this has to be so hard. There are many people that understand the problems and they are even proposing solutions. But the changes are slow to materialize. What would it take to make a big difference? Why aren’t the changes that seem so obvious being implemented? Is it that not enough people are aware of the problems? Are people just walking around with their heads in the sand and remembering the good old days? Or maybe they just don’t want to make waves?
The truth is that I don’t have all the answers. I don’t think any of us do. But I do have a lot of questions. And the more we ask the questions, the more we start looking for answers. And guess what, we’ll find them. We are a creative lot, and if we put our minds together and focus on the best possible outcome, we can come up with answers way better than we could come up with individually.
Guess what else? Like those very successful companies described above, it’s going to be important that each member of the team become engaged.
In what may seem like a crazy idea, I think we’re a lot closer to turning this around than we think. I believe that we can virtually eradicate many dis-eases, and that we can do it in our lifetime. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do the same with things like war, poverty and famine?
One of the things that has been ruminating in my head is to create a series of “Calls to Action” that are easy for people to undertake. And I know of groups that are pooling some of the most creative minds in order to do the same. I just know that we’ll be seeing many of theseCalls in the not-too-distant future.
So what do you think? Is this a situation where you just know there has to be a change, but you’re not sure how to either make the change yourself, or even contribute to the change?
Don’t sit back. Don’t bury your head in the sand. Ask questions. Get involved. You’re not the only one with the same thoughts. Your ideas and your actions matter. If what you do helps to change the actions of even one person, you’ll have made a difference.
Here’s a list of some simple Calls to Action that you can do today, maybe you’re already doing some of them.
- Ask questions, have conversations – do things really have to continue unchanged?
- Talk to your friends to see if they have similar thoughts.
- Create or become part of a community that is involved in making a difference. It might be a local community or you might become part of an online community.
- Share your crazy ideas – seems to me that the crazier the idea, the more likely it is to turn into something meaningful. I share mine on FaceBook and twitter, check them out.
- Have a meaningful conversation with yourself – do you want to be a bystander or do you want to be a participant?
- Don’t be afraid to try something. The cumulative effort of a large number of people doing something makes a massive difference.
This quote seems to be a great closer and a great Call to Action.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world” — Mahatma Gandhi
You can make a difference. If not you, then who? If not now, then when?
Do you have any other ideas for Calls to Action? How are you making a difference? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Namaste,
Ken
P.S. Health-tember is almost complete for this year. Are you using September as a month to focus on happiness and gratitude? Check it out, get involved.
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Written by Ken
Ken Jaques describes himself as a Health Care Evolutionary, Community Builder, and Speaker. True healing begins when we treat root causes instead of just masking symptoms. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2008, Ken has experienced many facets of the health care system. As “the only patient who ever lost their hair on this low of a dosage of chemotherapy” – as spoken by his rheumatologist – Ken has been on an amazing journal of self-discovery, a journey of true healing. In his blog, Ken shares stories of how his beliefs have changed over the past few years, and how they are still changing. Is it possible that our bodies can heal themselves? Do we really have to live without hope after we receive a chronic illness diagnosis? These are the types of questions that Ken encourages people to ask themselves as they embark on their own physical or emotional healing journey.
Ken is creating a platform to connect People, Patients, Practitioners, Partners and Promoters, enabling a collaborative effort to help shift the focus on health from I-llness to We-llness. Check out the pilot at www.myHealthyCommunity.ca.
“When ‘I’ is replaced with ‘we’, even I-llness becomes WE-llness” ~ Malcolm X
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