We rarely need big things. As soon as someone starts talking about changing the world or radically reinventing something odds are good he’s talking from his ego, not his heart. Unless he’s working on bringing safety to the scared, health to the sick, or opportunity to the poor, the reinvention serves a want (or an ego), not a need. Technology has diminishing returns when it comes to difference making. Look back at the thing you care about: your friend, your family, your favorite pair of underwear, the idea of free thought, whatever it is. Now think of the last thing you made or the last hour or day you lived. Now, the one before that. What impact did they have on the things you hold most high? Was the reason you did or did not make a difference soley dependent on a technology? Progress may be infinite, sure, but in our time (and perhaps class, and country) progress isn’t as dependent on technology as it used to be: now it’s the use of technology that matters more than technology itself. The glaring need for progress is in what we send over the pipes, and not the pipes themselves. Since the telegraph we’ve been sending most bits to most places: where we’re behind is in the quality of what we send each other. For example, here’s some difference making problems whose solutions are not dependent on recent technological advances: I know you care about something: a person, a place or an idea. I also know that, whatever it is you care about, you want to help that thing. You prefer to be of use and to act in service of that friend or concept example of a good essay paper, rather than against it. These two points together mean that some actions serve you more than others: the more aligned your cares and actions, the bigger the difference you make. You don’t need to candy-stripe or be nice to your strange uncle (or his weird kids): to make a difference you simply need to question the value of what you’re doing and do something about your answers. I buy more things than I make. I used to think it was a sign of some kind of capitalistic progress to be able to buy food and gifts instead of making them myself, but I’m not sure anymore. When it comes to difference making there is a different trend line. Money can come and go, but my time on this planet is finite. How I spend my time, or who I spend it with means more than anything else in my universe. From at least the selfish view, giving my time is the most valuable gift I can give. It’s these seemingly small things that have little to do with a particular technology, or science, or business that stand out as most memorable. We can all remember times when someone did something for us that mattered and it’s always these human things. Simple behaviors. Actions not heavily bound by technology. Surprising acts of people not being heartless. So why do we forget that it is these things, not tools and toys, that hold the essence of making a difference? Only a hundred years ago, young people were expected to do things that today are unimaginable. Young people were made to work in factories, and settle down at the age of sixteen or seventeen to raise a family. At that point in time you were considered an adult and given adult responsibilities. There was no teenager, no space between childhood and adulthood. I believe that even as a teenager, we are just as capable of doing the things that adults are. I want to go back to that mind set. I want to show adults that I am capable of filling the roll of an adult do assignments for you, that I am capable of doing amazing things, the sort of things that no teenager today is expected to do. I believe that I can make a difference. I want to help the world english essay on love, in every and any way possible. My ultimate goal is to travel; to help people around the world, who weren’t given the same opportunities and privileges as I was. People who know tragedy. Who don’t have a stable life, or any way of changing it on their own. I want to be that person who reaches out to them because, I believe that I can make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. I want to see smiles on the faces of children and adults alike who have little reason to be happy and feel my own face warm to a smile for them. More importantly, I want to teach people, but not nearly as much as I would like for them to teach me. I believe that I know nothing, that I have everything to learn, and like a sponge I intend to absorb every bit of knowledge that comes my way. I want to make my self a better person and my life as fulfilling as possible. As cliché as it sounds, I woke up the other day and everything had changed. When I awoke that morning dissertation project on finance, I felt wrong, out of place and almost guilty. I feel like that I am not living up to my full potential. I think about where I see myself in five or ten years and I see myself stuck in Maine, doing nothing to make a difference in the world. I don’t like that image. I want to break free of the life style that I have become so accustomed to. I want to help people who are less fortunate and I want to make a difference. I feel like a lot of people who are my age don’t feel that they have the power to change things, they don’t know what they are capable of. I believe that if young adults put their mind to it that they can accomplish anything. Many people believe that they don’t have what it takes to make a difference to the world. They believe only people like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, and the likes, are capable of making a difference. All the whining and complaining in the world is not going to make a difference to the world. It will only drain you of your precious energy from doing things that do make a difference. “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” — Mother Teresa I always wanted to make a difference but i always thought that a 14 year old isn`t capable of making a difference but your article help make realize that anybody is capable of making a difference. You can change the world by helping one person at a time. One of the ways to help someone is to empower the person. But how do you empower a person? Well, one of the ways is to be generous in giving praise and encouragement instead of criticism. This is a wonderful post! By praising and encouraging the person, you’d have helped him/her to accomplish what he/she is meant to be, and that would lead to more value being added to the world. i really enjoyed all of it but what really struck me the most was the fact that it is written that the size of the contribution is not what that matters but the heart you take to do it.i hope new ideas keep flushing in day-to-day.This statement has and will keep helping me a lot. Thanks. anon on May 30 definition of thesis and examples, 2012 at 5:06 pm Instead of whining and complaining, seek to use the time more productively by engaging in activities that matter. When it comes to making a difference, nothing matters more than taking actions. Blair Leach on October 11, 2011 at 4:53 pm @Happiness is Better: I agree with you about the snow ball effect. A huge amount of small contributions make up to a large amount of differences. 7. Stop Whining and Do Something The truth is, every one of us is put in this world to contribute and make a difference to the world in our own unique way. It need not be anything out of the world. It just needs to be something you do with the intention of ‘doing good’. Ignore the bullies and keep smiling and fighting verbally as we do not need to hurt people and cause them pain. Team up with others that dream the same dream and together we can move mountains. My name is Sharon J. Bainbridge and I hope to one day make sure struggling Mothers get the support they need to provide for their children without getting ripped off! I write for free for London Mum’s Magazine where I blog about arts and crafts for children. I believe our children deserve a better world and believe me their are plenty of rich and powerful people that could make this happen. If only they stopped thinking about themselves! AngelEyes on September 6, 2011 at 7:47 pm But there will be no whispering crowds, and even if there were, in reality, it would probably just make me uncomfortable. There is no one best time to start to make a difference to the world. You don’t need to wait till you have the time to share some love; you don’t have to wait till you make more money to share a slice of bread. Little efforts count, and you can start making small contributions today. @Glen: I’m glad you like the post. There are a lot of things in life that are simple yet powerful. More often than not, human beings like to turn simple things into something complicated just so to prove their ‘sophistication’. I enjoy helping people, I enjoy giving when I can, I enjoy helping other’s, I giving my time to people when they need just someone to be there for them. I love life, but sometimes bad people bring me down and then people see one side which is the upset side of me. I know I ca nmake a differance in the world just by either speaking, helping, giving and listening. I can sing a song to a child and soothe their fears and provide comfort, and that grows up to be a teacher or doctor because that moment of love forever changed their life. Small just might be better. In a world where we are bombarded with “super-size” and “high roller” life styles…where for a moment may seem appealing, we were not all made to stand in the spotlight. But for that one person we touch…we are definitely their star! Graham Kay on August 30, 2010 at 2:36 pm Don’t argue with the people that should be working with you, because if they don’t want to fight for something, then you need to move on and think about the bigger picture. Hamu on August 8, 2011 at 3:12 am 1. It Need Not Be an Enormous Task Hey don’t we all have a little megalomania in us? After all, our thoughts are the only ones running through our head, and what we do throughout the day is the only thing we see. So, when we think of changing the world, we tend to look at it from perceptive of a megalomaniac. Hoards of people whispering to one another written application letters for employment, pointing in our direction, ‘is that him?’ mom essay, ‘there he is…that is him. ’ This is what I’ve been dreaming. As Mahatma Gandhi said, ” you must be the change you wish to see in the world” Yeah, you’ve to be a really change you wish to see if you feel you’ve to. As others fellow said above, just nowing the little contribution is better than nothing. So, please let as small contributor in our life in different way. Other than doing things to make a difference, we should also seek to influence others to start doing things that make a difference. And the best way to convince other people is to lead by example. Sean scammell on June 2, 2014 at 7:14 pm Amazing comment only one question, how do we team up to fight the “bullies”? And when more people receive education, they will in turn provide more value to the world. If you think that everything has been taken care of by somebody and your contribution is not going to make much of a difference, then you’re wrong. Can you imagine if everyone else starts to think the same way? Thank you Mark, you have just reminded me why I teach yoga in the first place. victoria on July 12, 2012 at 11:57 am Jeremy Day on March 12, 2009 at 3:41 pm "Sustainability" is a word that has echoed in my home for as long as I can remember, not by repetition but by practice. Living in Nepal, and having an average income, my family has never allowed any waste of resources, be it food or even something as diminutive as an A4 size paper. Although, perhaps, one may point out that income had something to do with that, but even after my family's income did rise (not because of inflation), waste of resources was condemned. My family has, by making sustainability so deeply rooted in my endeavors, instilled in me a type of purity when it comes to careful use of resources. Now, that has burgeoned to much more: I don't like to see anyone waste anything, as I know that our world is limited in its means, and by carefully judging my use of resources as well as that of people around me, I believe that my small efforts will make a difference to ensure sustainability. Essay Question: What does sustainability mean to you?
In elementary school I had a friend who got made fun of, and didn’t always fit in. One day my friend had told me about the bullying that was going on. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could someone go around tormenting someone the way they were? After my friend had told me about that I knew I had to something. The bell rang for recess and I spotted the boy who had been bullying my friend. I walked right over there and told him that the things he was saying are hurtful. Then I told him he had to apologize. Ever since then, that bully never bullied my friend again. It felt good that I stood up for someone and made their school life a lot better. Since that experience I have always stood up for anyone who was getting bullied. I remember in history class we would always read about people who did amazing things in their lives. Like Martin Luther king, or Abraham Lincoln. How they persevered and kept going. That’s the way I want my life to be. I want to be remembered for making a difference. I don’t want it for the fame or the glory. It could even be something that made a very small difference but still impacted someone and I would be happy. I have tried to remember that my actions mean something in the long run. What kind of person do you want to be remembered as when your friends look back at junior high and High school? Sign up for our free, weekly podcast of featured essays. You can download recent episodes individually, or subscribe to automatically receive each podcast. Learn more . When I look back on all I have done in my thirteen years, I’m proud, and I know that I have a destiny to do much more in the future. I was able to take my thoughts and draw them out all the way so that they became my destiny. So even though I’m still young I know that I can make a difference wherever I go. Hopefully, Mahatma Gandhi would have been proud of me. Hurtful things I’ve said to people caused my to ignore them, or them to ignore me, and now, I miss them with all my heart. Those are people I won’t get to speak to again because I hurt them so badly that they do everything in their power to avoid me. They resent me now because I spoke thoughts that were based off of the way they acted, which were just a result of how they spoke, thought and grew up. Today, I see those people and all I see in their eyes is sadness, resentment, and almost hatred because of little words that started as little thoughts. For me, this cause was homelessness. When I walk around this city, I see people trying to make it by on the street, with nothing but the clothes on their backs. For the past five years, I’ve dedicated my birthdays to volunteer work – a couple of friends and I hold a lemonade stand do essay on time, where we raise funds for the shelter, and I accept only gifts of canned food for people who suffer from homelessness. It was a simple thought that has made a big difference in my life, and I hope essay about biography, someone else’s life. This sympathy for people living in tough situations translated into a little fundraiser, which turned into a yearly tradition. Helping people this way has really inspired me: since, I have volunteered with the Homeless Shelter and other organizations thesis for essay examples, and I hope it has contributed to making me a more compassionate individual. A quick idea has easily morphed into a cherished ritual, and that alone should demonstrate the impact community service can have on your life. I never gave much thought to habits, because for me, they were just another part of my day, something unavoidable. Today I spend most of my time erasing those habits and making better ones. It’s hard because those habits I developed so long ago are a part of me. These things that built upon each other are still haunting me today. They threaten my future pay someone to write college essay, torture my past, and are with me in every moment of each day. I never thought that the things I said would still be impacting me so far down the road. This continuous sequence of events, this transformation of a single thought to one’s destiny, rests solely on you and your willpower. Middle-schoolers are at a pivotal point in their lives – and we can choose the actions that are going to shape our entire future! In my lifetime, I’ve tried to make decisions that will be constructive in the end. Our opportunities are growing, and helping others can only increase these opportunities. I’ve always felt that volunteering and community service are something that we, as citizens, are internally obligated to do. When we find a cause we care about, a cause we connect with, we are able to dedicate some time from our lives for this cause. I can also make a difference in the community where I live. Last year my class held a car wash to raise money for the Animal Shelter. We went to visit the dogs there and I realized that the money we raised made a difference for some of them.
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