I would like to think that we are all warriors, actively fighting the battles that everyday brings us to accomplish our goals, help others, and make the world a better place for playing our part in it. I unfortunately find that while many share in this thought, many others do not. Some people live their life meaninglessly, without a regard for their place in it or how they can impact it to leave it better than when they arrived. We are human after all, and sacrificing the greater good for temporary comforts is most likely somehow embedded into our survival instincts. I try to think about what I can do in any situation to make it better, help others, and do the right thing.
The way I see it is that if I have the ability to help, it is my responsibility to do so. To my astonishment, I find myself often challenged by phrases like “relax, you’re going to kill yourself,” “that’s not your problem to worry about,” “there’s nothing you can do about that.” “you did everything you can do in that situation, that’s all you can do,” or the worst of all, “you did your job." I just find these answers unsatisfying and unsatisfactory. While in some cases there truly is nothing you can do, in others, a little extra effort would have changed everything. While I hope to one day become a warrior for change, I cannot escape the perception by some as being a worrier of things I cannot change. Am I the only one out there who feels this way?
There are 7.6 Billion people in this world right now. Assuming we only get 1 life and this is it, then if we merely are born, breathe, and die we have only impacted 0.0000000013% (that’s 10 zeros) of the world. That is all that we are guaranteed. That’s all you get if you go through life and do nothing for anyone else, ever. If you positively impact just one other person, you have doubled your impact, if you impact 2, you have tripled it, and the pattern continues to create your total percentage of impact. Imagine if everyone positively impacted just 1 other person. While not everyone lives a selfless life of service toward others, there are fortunately some that do and some that have found the balance of helping others while living their own best life at the same time. The message is not that we all have to be Mother Teresa, but that there is a reason we appreciate her message and what she has a done.
I think about people who have been successful and, without being required or asked, use it to help so many others. Imagine the impact percentage of people like Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres, Joel Osteen, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett to name a few off the top of my head. It was even Andrew Carnegie who said that "No man can become rich without himself enriching others." These are the Warriors who give me hope that I am not just a worrier but a warrior with a worthy cause. My real question for all of these people is: did they set out in their careers initially with any idea as to who they wanted to be, what they wanted to become, how they would do it and why? Are these questions important and is success something that was destined for them or did they do it entirely with their own hard work and grit? Somehow, I have to believe that someone, somewhere helped these people to make their big break or figure out what they wanted to do. Perhaps this is what inspires them to give back.
I think that I often find myself dazzled by all that is going on around me and picture myself doing so many different things that it is hard for me to focus on one specific idea and follow it for fear of making the wrong decision and getting in too deep. I have found that once I settle into a role, I perform at high pace and do all that I can to exemplify the qualities that the role requires. I think about my Grandma’s words, “Life is one big act, and I guess I’m a pretty good actress.” I look up to much of what my grandmother stood for and accomplished so is she right? Is it a matter of being something rather than doing something?
This post has most certainly brought about more questions than answers. As I have said before, I do not pretend to know everything and any advice that I give is that of a true amateur. I am trying to figure out this thing called life and my only peace of mind at times comes from the understanding that I am not the only one who often finds himself lost or confused.
For the time being, I will keep doing what I am doing. I will keep rooting for the underdog, helping the people whom I am in the position to help, and I will keep fixing the problems in front of me that I believe need to be fixed. Given the problems in the world today, I would have to believe that if everyone worried a little bit more, everyone would have to worry a little bit less. Perhaps this is how we transform the concept of being a worrier to being a warrior.