Have you ever stared at your bedroom ceiling in the middle of the night thinking, “I want to change the world … I want to make some kind of difference to this planet, but I have NO IDEA how”?
Perhaps you’ve searched far and wide for a way you can feel as though you are doing enough, being enough, and making enough meaningful change. Perhaps you’ve even read books about social change, or studied courses in tertiary institutions about how to make society a better place to live.
But in the end, nothing feels enough.
Have you ever dealt with this?
With all of the terror, violence, greed, exploitation, pollution, and annihilation wreaking havoc in our world, it’s no wonder that most of us feel minuscule and completely powerless in the face of such horror. How can WE as singular, average, and commonplace people possibly start a revolution? How can we possibly live our lives full-well knowing that we are doing our very best and benefiting the world in the largest way possible?
Like you, I am ordinary and feel tiny in the face of such overwhelming challenges. I’m not particularly strong, I rarely have energy, I’m not good at networking or socializing, and I have premature hearing loss in both ears. However, what I DO have is willpower, and this has been more valuable than any other quality in my life. Why? Because I may not be the strongest, most capable, most charming, most extraordinary person in the world, but I do have passion – and that is all that counts when it comes to starting a revolution.
Do you have passion? Do you have willpower? Because if you do, you are a natural-born revolutionary; you are a god-given trail-blazer.
I Want to Change the World, but I’m Only Ordinary – How?
I want to change the world. I always have ever since I stepped out of the innocent haze of childhood. And although I’m ordinary, I know that that’s not an excuse to give up and play the mindless games of a society that is built on fear, ego, ignorance, and control.
Will you join me on this quest to form a more wise, loving and peaceful world? Will you give up your stories of what you “should” be like and “have to do” and open up to what you really can achieve? Will you let go of your concepts of what a revolutionary “must look like,” your unrealistic self-expectations, and your desire to find your self-worth in your outer success, and truly create change?
If so, keep reading:
1. Make a serious conscious effort to develop empathy for others.
Sol once said to me, “Change can never come, has never come, and will never come, from trying to influence an external system.” Why? Because the only real form of change comes from within. How can you, from a place of hatred and emotional instability, teach love and inner peace? It just doesn’t work, and it never ever will. That is why as hard as we try to force outer change, we only create ripples on the surface of the much larger lake of global pain.
This is why I prescribe empathy. In the emotional apothecary, empathy is the only emotion that truly helps us to understand and feel compassion for others. Empathy is the only emotion that allows us to truly forgive others, and therefore develop a deep conscious form of love. You absolutely can’t experience true compassion, forgiveness, or love for others unless you can first feel their pain and suffering.
Many people confuse empathy with pity. Empathy is not looking down on a person and feeling sorry for them, empathy is actually making the effort to understand why a person thinks, feels, believes, and behaves the way they do. The reality is that there is a huge empathetic deficit in our society: most of us are not empathetic beings, this is the reality. Finally, empathy is not just about putting yourself in the shoes of the less fortunate; empathy is about learning to deeply understand everyone in your life, including those you can’t stand being around and hate with a passion.
2. Learn to authentically love yourself.
If you want to change the world you need to learn how to love yourself. This is vital and absolutely imperative. How can you truly create any meaningful change if you continue to hate yourself, punish yourself, and act like your own worst enemy? As is so often said, you need to be the change. You need to embody the change that you wish to see, rather than demanding everything around you to change first. You can never force another person to change unless they are first willing to – but you CAN change yourself.
3. Support non-gmo, free-range meat (or no meat), organic produce and sustainable living.
Support products, farming methods, and forms of living that nourish life, rather than destroy and abuse it. This might require you to change your habits or spend a few extra dollars, but at the end of the day you are truly helping to change the planet.
4. Buy recycled clothing, catch public transport and reduce your consumption of material goods.
The more you buy, consume, and throw away, the more you contribute to the pollution of this planet. Do you really need constant technological upgrades, or new furnishings every 6 months? And what about clothing? Do you constantly need to refresh your look (and contribute to child labor in sweat shops)? Try buying at the local thrift store instead, and help charity in the process.
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5. Be a couch-activist.
Using social media and the internet to enact change is a simple and accessible way of making a difference. Whenever there is a petition to sign, post to like, article to share about an important issue, get involved! Here is a good website to start. You could even volunteer to moderate a forum or facebook group that is dedicated to a meaningful topic you are interested in, e.g. animal rights, domestic abuse, yoga, etc. On the other hand, you could take the traditional route and join an organization such as the RSPCA/ASPCA, Greenpeace, WWF, HRC, IFAT, etc.
6. Do shadow work.
Ignorance and pain is spread from one generation to another due to unresolved core wounds. When we fail to come to terms with our darkness, with our cuts, with our own repressed thoughts, feelings and dreams, we become neurotic, angry, emotionally unstable, unfulfilled people. And we pass this on to our children. And our children pass their wounds onto their children. And so on and so forth. The only way we can break our world’s cycle of unconscious suffering and self-loathing is through the process of shadow work; through consciously exploring our pain, and releasing ourselves from the grip of our shadows. Read more about shadow work.
Leave a comment …
You might not think so, but leaving a comment is a good way of showing the world “I care about this topic!” This is a small but valuable way of creating the first ripples of change.
So leave a comment below! Tell us how you create change in your quarters, and how you inspire others to do so.
How do you help achieve systemic change?
Organize and connect with networks of social change actors.
Hey I just wanted to say this article is awesome but I think point 3 needs some careful consideration. I agree that being thoughtful about food is definitely the right thing to do, but I disagree with the premise that gmo bad and organic good. Gmo itself isn’t inherently bad, but corporations twist it and warp it into something that can be. Organic isn’t inherently good. They don’t stop using pesticides and the growing technique is rarely efficient, usually producing less than half the yield a regular field would. My suggestion is shop local. Know where your food comes from and support what they do not what they say. For meat go to a butchers. Not one in a supermarket (although I know not all are bad sometimes it’s easier to blanket statement) but one that knows where it’s meat comes from. Although I do agree. Less meat in your diet is a sure fire way to make an impact. Not everyone can (or want to) I get that but it really makes a difference.
You still seem to lack a clear plan of action, I have a workable solution and I have already put it in progress. All I need is help creating awareness about my programme and a platform to speak to the masses. It’s such a pity that people only seem to follow mindless nonsense or idiotic drivel spewed by politicians and celebrities. As soon as you start talking realistic solutions nobody seems to care. So sad…
Thanks for doing this. Keep inspiring people like me because this is what we all need to make the difference: hope and knowing that we are not alone! Please dont ever stop what you are doing ❤
You are a clear example as to why our world needs a greater change. This was a beautiful article that was tainted only by your mean, unhelpful comment. What this post had to say was incredibly helpful to me in showing me ways I can be a greater, more kind human. I’m sorry that somewhere o forr some reason you hurt so much, you feel you need to hurt others. To the person that wrote this article: thank you! Thank you for being kind and helping me. Thank you for being part of the reason this world still has some good in it :)
I love the topic you wrote about! I would like to make a different kind of change though – I want to be able to buy property without a credit score
First of all I offer my heartfelt gratitude for such a priceless blog. I have been born and raised in a very broken family. Though I may have been abused emotionally numberless of times but I have worked a lot on my emotional balance through Yoga, spiritual seeking and meditation and it has proved to be very fruitful. But there is a big interrogation mark left on my mind, it is: MY LIFE PURPOSE. So I am thinking about how and where to start. But allow me to tell you that I got some clue through you blog. Please believe me, I truly want to do something substantial for the welfare of those in distress. Kindly pray for me and last not the least, if there is any help further you can provide, you are all welcome. God bless you all. Hari Om!
Hi, Im yet another shitposter on the internet. Like most people here i wanted to change the world. To anyone new here that wants to change the world:
Ignore this retarded article
You can change the world through effort. Not through going organic and vegan (which is stupid hippie shit). Sure going vegab is “helping reduce abuse” of life cause meat human civilization means killing animals in high amounts but we’re omnivores, we eat meat and plants. Stop using “changing the world” as shorthand for “having the same opinion as everyone else”
So, I obviously Googled a phrase which took me to this article. I began reading and it started promisingly, then after a few short sentences of keeping an open mind it quickly changed to a similar brainwashing load of codswhallop. Stop trying to get everyone to think and behave the same way. It isn’t the answer and it will never be the answer! Yes, there is plenty “wrong” with the world. But remember, there is plenty right with it. Don’t get lost.
I have found the way to do it. But unfortunately – no one listens. Everyone are hypocritical robots. The principle I found – is the high-equilibrium. Search in FaceBook for the group “Meritocracy high equilibrium”. There in the description – the first link – explains the principle. We can do this, and soon! But if people will continue to ignore this – it will never happen.
hello! my name is ledi and i’m 15 years old and I really wanted to change the world because soon we will face the extinction of human race due to our own stupidity. it is all our fault why global warming are increasing . why poverty is still rising especially in africa thousands of children are sleeping with an empty stomach . And our leaders are acting like a kid. in my country in the philippines right now our new senators are criminal,thief they stole our tax that;s why we are still in the depth of underdeveloped country. then in nature illegal logging. mining.melting glaciers and such . we are blind to the truth that the earth doesn’t need us. we need earth! or else we wanted to die. We cannot change the world if we just sit around and watch as the world falls apart. in advance i am sorry our mother earth
So I initially thought that I wanted to change the world. I thought the best way to do this was for me to actually become a civil engineer so that i could build houses for the poor. That was my thinking, I didn’t know it was gonna happen, where I was gonna get the money from, but I just wanted to get the degree so somehow i can make the change that i wanted to. Here comes the sad part…I’m still trying to get my degree. I’ve been in varsity for 4 years already, I still have 3 more bloody years to. I never imagined for this degree to be so taxing but this is the horrible situation that i find myself in. I just don’t have the motivation anymore. Forget the peoples lives that i want to positively impact, I can’t even make my own life better right now. I don’t want my initial goal to go away but right now i feel more hopeless than i ever did before…
Maybe try volunteering for Habitat For Humanity, and maybe not only will your life be renewed, but you might find that what you have already learned will be really helpful. Or it might challenge much of what you’ve already learned, and you’ll find better, more immediate ways to apply your passion to helping the poor. Even if you are in debt from school, it might be just what you need to get yourself out the mess you feel you are in. There are surely other organizations like Habitat, but that is the most well-known.
Keep going!
Love this!!
I typed into Google ..how can I make change? I did this because I feel so overwhelmed….where do I begin? And It brought me to this page. I would not trust a search engine in most cases to answer or begin to believe it could help me…cuz it’s simple. I’m saying that sometimes it’s not an intricate process…alot of the answers I seek are found within me. So thank you….
How do you do? My name’s Scourgestar. I am 16 years old and I want to change the world for the better so I read your article in order to change the world. Even though you might think I’m too young to change the world, never kick a dog because he’s just a pup.
Hello!! I read ur article today and I find it very interesting. My name is Lydia, I’m 19 years old and I live in Greece. I am at merchant navy, captain and I do kickboxing. Also I like reading books and writing songs, poems and thoughts that I have sometimes. I like hearing rap and hip hop music like the old school. For instance 2Pac is a person that really inspires me with his words. I think about to change the world. I want to do sth important that really affect people to became more good and protect human rights and many things that are not support in our days. U know that many things are changing in ur days. One of them is music. Music and especially hip hop isn’t like the old days. Rappers are not talking about anything real and they care about money, girls and drugs. Also society doesn’t change. There are so many human problems around the world. When rich people have everything, there are hundred people that are leaving user poverty and don’t have the appropriate things to survive. I think about it many times and I want to do sth to help people uderstand the magnitude of our society. I like write songs and thoughts sometimes. But what I can do in order to help them understand. I want to do sth. I know there are so many people that are artists and do many things, but I want to do sth that makes me happy. I want to help people be more helpful with each other and create a world with justice, where all humans are equal. Because all humans are equal, despite their skin color, their desicions or their destinations. All people worth to live a life with reliability. But what u can do? I think about to be like 2Pac. He’s words are so real. But in my country there’s no possibility for this. Here are specific jobs that people should do to survive. Unfortunately not everyone isucky to follow his\her dreams. I want to cooperate with people and create music. But I don’t know what I can do. Please help me!!
Hey, I think you’re totally right. Today’s rappers just promote egoism, sexism and greed. They get paid by powerful coorperations to do this. In order to influence our behaviour. Of what we buy and believe in. Tupac was an awesome human being. He spread love and brought the world closer together. That’s why he got killed. Because the elite fear such people. They want us to live in discord, hate, fear and envy, so they can control us more easily. I would love to make music aswell, especially hip hop. Talking about what’s wrong with the world and bringing back the old school. Because that’s what hip hop has always been about, it’s a form of protest. Now I think the fact that you even have this mindset can contribute alot to changing the world. We may not recognize it, but the way we act and think influences people more than we might expect. This falls under the law of attraction, which says that if you think about something long and hard enough, it will eventually come to you…
I enjoyed reading this.
The real life is living in the moment , but we get easily sidetracked by social games , even are own king is fooled the LEADER of our country OUR PROTECTER, how can you encourage genarations like this ? ANSWER!!!! ?