EVERYTHING you do makes a DIFFERENCE…

Do you ever wonder if you are truly making a difference?  Do you ponder on whether or not your actions each day make an impact in the world?  They do.  Every little and big thing we do does impact those around us even if we don’t think so.  Here’s a little true story to prove the point…

A retired nurse in her seventies was in a grocery store when a woman walked up to her with great curiosity and excitement, insisting she was the nurse who delivered her son.  When the retired nurse asked the woman how old her son was, she said, “He’s twenty-nine and you were the nurse who was there for me at his birth.  It’s definitely you because you haven’t changed a bit!”.  The retired nurse who had been a nurse for countless newborn deliveries during her career replied, “Well, considering his age that is definitely possible, and so how is your son today?”.  The woman was so excited to be reunited with the caring nurse who helped deliver her son so many decades ago that she quickly took out her cell phone, showed the retired nurse a picture of her son and replied, “He’s wonderful!  He’s doing just great!”.  To her surprise, before the retired nurse had time to reply, the woman called her son from her cell phone and was overjoyed to tell him that she was standing there with the nurse who had delivered him so many years ago.  To her this was like a gift from heaven as she had yet another opportunity to thank the nurse who was there for her during such an important time of her life.  The woman graciously thanked the retired nurse repeatedly.  The retired nurse who had spent the better part of her life impacting others by her caring acts and kindness had been validated so many years after she’d retired.  She walked away elated with joy that even in her retirement the impact she made so many years ago made such a difference in someone’s life and was still recognized and acknowledged today.

We all have this ability.  To make an impact and lasting difference in the lives of others through our daily actions.  When we take every opportunity whether it’s in our jobs or in our families or out in the world to go above and beyond to be selfless it has a ripple effect and people remember.  Even if we don’t feel acknowledged and even if years pass and we haven’t been validated, there is usually a very different reality playing out behind the scenes where we never knew.  I am sure that at the time, the retired nurse would have said she was just doing her job, but what strikes me most about this is not that she was just doing her job but the attitude she must have brought to her job and the patients she cared for.  To make such an impact on someone’s life and be recognized and acknowledged decades later tells me of the power we all have to make a true difference by the way we are in the world each moment with each person we come in contact with. 

It’s not just about what we do but who we are and how we are in the world that makes an impact.  This retired nurse didn’t “do” anything different that any other nurse may have done during the delivery process, but the way she was in her job and with her patients is what made the difference.  They were her focus and they felt it.  It’s our humbleness and meekness and selflessness that silently impacts those around us.  As well, our motives need to be right.  If this nurses’ motives were simply to get a pay check or be openly rewarded then it’s doubtful any former patient would recognize her so fondly today.  People often sense our motives.  It’s apparent that her motive was to care for her patients in a deep way regardless of the job duties or the pay.  As a result, she is remembered fondly even in her retirement by her former patients.

So, even when life is hard, the tasks you endure are taxing or the job is challenging and you don’t feel appreciated and no one is there at that moment to acknowledge you, remember that what you do for others and more importantly, who you are as a person will carry on into many lives and for many years to come. 

You have the power everyday to make a true difference in the world and you don’t have to do a whole lot, you just have to be the best version of yourself you can be, have right motives and people will remember.

Sheri