Small Steps

If you’re looking to improve your life and inspire others, consider using these ideas as a place to start your journey. In life, it’s usually not the grand splashes that create the wave of change, but rather the subtle ripples. Here are a few ways you can make a more lasting impact on others.

Lead by example
Practice what you preach or don’t preach at all. Be the change you want to see in the world. If you really want to inspire others to do something, then this ‘something’ should be a big part of your life. You don’t necessarily need to be an expert at it, but you do need to be passionately involved.  The old saying, “People would rather see a sermon than hear one” rings true.

Help people heal
Instead of judging people by their past, stand by them and help repair their future. In life, you get what you put in. When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life. Do something that’s greater than you—something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less.

Keep your promises and tell the truth
Inspire people with your dependability and commitment to the truth. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. If you say you’re going to be somewhere, be there. If you say you feel something, mean it. Your word, when kept consistently, will hold greater value and elicit more trust and confidence with others when backed by actions.

Listen intently to what others say
Make people feel important, and inspire them by showing them that they are. Eyes focused, ears tuned, mobile phone off. In a world that can’t move fast enough, someone who can find time to listen to others is always appreciated. In fact, one could argue that giving someone your full attention is one of the greatest gifts you can give someone.

Make people feel good about themselves
People will rarely remember what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel. Start noticing what you like about others and tell them. Go out of your way to personally acknowledge and complement the people who have gone out of their way to excel.

As von Goethe once said, “Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.” There’s power to change others in your kindly spoken words.