In his 1952 short story A Sound of Thunder, Ray Bradbury wrote about a futuristic time machine company that took hunters back to prehistoric days to hunt dinosaurs. In the adventure, one of the hunters stepped off the designated path and accidentally stepped on a butterfly. The ripple effect (or butterfly effect) of this seemingly innocuous action were world-changing.
You might wonder how one tiny act can produce results so extraordinary… that is, until you think it through, and then it all becomes clear pretty quickly. And despite the fictional nature of Bradbury’s story, there is a great truth in the reality that even tiny decisions can lead to monumental results. Think of a time when someone looked at you in an angry or judgmental way that then led to a whirlwind of your internal thoughts. Think of a time when someone did even the smallest random act of kindness for you and how it led to slew of your own kind inner dialogue. A look, even a glance, or the smallest act can have a ripple effect that impacts your entire internal world, which ultimately impacts your own actions, however minuscule, which in turn reverberates out to others in the external, physical world.
As I have stated many times in the past: We judge others by their actions, but judge ourselves by our intentions. And that’s not just a neat little statement to post online, it’s an actual truth about life. Knowing this truth helps us understand why it is that we have such a strong tendency to minimize the harm we cause others, but amplify or maximize the harm others cause us. We write off our own poor actions with “Well, I didn’t mean to,” and get annoyed with those who hold onto the slights we committed, but we simultaneously refuse to allow others any sense of reprieve for their trespasses against us. But our actions – all of our actions – impact others.
If you want to change the world, begin with being mindful of both how you come across to others (even when you don’t “mean to be”), and how others impact you. Be mindful of the rapid thoughts that ensue when you encounter a small rude or kind act; and when you think it through, think this through, too: Other people also go on internal rants and spiral dialogues after they interact with you, as well. So the more mindful you are to be your best, most conscious self, the more conscious impact you have on others, and the more you will impact the world in the way you hope to impact it.
3 Steps To Change the World:
- Be aware that people are assessing your actions, not your intentions.
- Be aware that people’s actions aren’t always a reflection of their intentions (i.e., just as you mess up, hurt others and are disappointed in yourself at times, so too, are others), which will augment your compassion, which ultimately will impact the energy that you bring to the world.
- Like the butterfly effect that Bradbury demonstrated in his (very entertaining) short story, be mindful that even the smallest of your actions can create day-altering, life-impacting, and world changing ripple effects.
