Do You Make a Difference?

Make a Difference

You do! And you might be surprised – or not… but you have a major impact on many people … and… it’s the tiny things you do that make a difference in a big way.

This morning, I have to admit; I was feeling a more than a little down in the dumps. My children are off visiting their dad (which is ok) – but based on the fact he advised me of the extended stay at the exact time I was expecting them home, the ‘no notice factor’ caught me off guard and took a bit of dealing with.

I woke up to an empty house and felt like I was ‘missing’ something. I didn’t know where to put myself and frankly felt a little like a fish out of water.

Then the phone rang. It was a friend I haven’t spoken to in years. She said she had though about me often and wished she was closer. She told me I always cheered her up, made her laugh and that she missed our visits. Though we only spoke for a couple of moments – I felt quite elevated! It was nice to know I was missed! 🙂

Moments later I received an email from a complete stranger telling me how much she enjoyed my website. (not this blog) but my ‘turndreamstoabundance’ site. She said she felt inspired and found it easy to read. How nice I thought… another unexpected boost!

Suddenly feeling quite uplifted, I started thinking how small acts of kindness or simply reaching out means so much.

I immediately picked up the phone to talk to my friend Dan who is facing a real health battle at the moment.

While talking to him, I decided to tell him what an impact he has always had on MY life. I’ve more or less grown up with him in our tight knit community. I shared with him some of the things he’d said tome over the years – that had stuck with me and had an impact on many of my decisions.

Though he didn’t necessarily remember saying all the things I’d pointed out, he was pleased that I’d shared my thoughts and reminded him of his wisdom, my respect for him and the fact I’d told him I love him.

Though long phone conversations are not really my style, at the end of the chat, we’d covered all the worlds’ problems 🙂 and agreed what a fantastic chat we’d had!

This took no effort – except honest down to earth sharing… and meant a lot to each of us.

I later thought about the kindness from some of my online friends. All the people who have taken the time to know me and selflessly offered assistance just to help me out; even by stopping by and leaving a comment, a compliment… or simply being willing to answer a question when I was stuck.

I remembered the time I brought my neighbours garbage cans in one windy morning and how grateful she was. My neighbour then told me how much she appreciated last summer when she and her husband were taking off in their motor home for a couple of weeks. I purposely awoke at 5am to wave to them from my front porch & wish them a safe trip! (I didn’t realize how much it meant to her!)

I then thought about a lady in the supermarket who made me feel like a million bucks the other day when she flashed a huge smile and told me she thought I was beautiful… and how she enjoyed listening to the conversation I was having with my ‘kiddos’ and that we’d brightened her day. (wow! 🙂 )

Finally, I felt it was time to stop playing my own violin… and focus on “simple pleasures” instead of moping!

I hopped in the shower. While in there, my mom stopped by to take me for a cup of tea. Naturally, I missed her, but I was grateful she tried to treat me… and a hug from my mom would have made my day even better!

The moral of this brief post is to simply point out that each and every one of us make a difference whether we know it or not.

What’s even better is the fact that making a difference often takes little to no effort!

Always be thoughtful, kind and respectful to your fellow human.
Simply being YOU is all it takes.

Furthermore, you don’t even need to ‘know’ the people you’re impacting either, just simple acts of kindness to people you don’t know can brighten their day.

So here’s a neat exercise for you:

Go ahead & make a difference each and every day; compliment the bank teller, wave to the postman, encourage your fellow online marketers and help them with their online endeavors (whether you know them or not).

Always be willing to answer a question or lend a hand if people are stuck. It makes a HUGE difference.

Leave a nice comment/compliment on Facebook and just be kind to the people you see.

Treat your spouse to a coffee in bed!

Hug your kids, call your parents, tweet a nice post, and appreciate everyone and everything. We’re all just people after all… and small things mean a lot to all of us whether we realize it at the time or not!

I’d like you to know how much I’ve appreciated your support, help, compliments and comments … by simply taking a few minutes to visit me here on occasion. I find you so encouraging and thought you should know how you make a difference to me!

For a nice Break – here’s an inspirational 3 minute clip about making a difference! Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below!

Tagged as: how to make a difference, make a difference, making a difference, to make a difference, you make a difference