It may astound you to know how much influence you have in everything you do. Whether it be in your working environment, family and friends, or life… you control a sizable chunk of what happens in and around every place you are!

Now this can be a little unnerving, you can put yourself in this self denial but that won”t change the above fact. Even if you totally disagree, the fact remains that you are running this show…  Now I have my own thing going on. That is my life; it also affects others just like it is affecting you right now. While I sit here and write this, you sit there and read it… agreeing or disagreeing with what I say. If you choose to read further, then I may action some idea in your proximity and you will act. In this way, we all contribute to the survival of the whole group, and even mankind. Even if you completely rubbish everything I say, then that too affects so many around you. Whether it is by no change or by change, life is influenced by who touches you and who you touch.

Examples are everywhere. You have a computer issue… Someone sent you a dodgy email containing a virus. This impinges on you. You seek help by going to a computer help web site. You are beginning to impinge on others by seeking help. The help you get is from another person, their life now involves your environment. You have impinged on their life.

Just by turning up at work, you have created a different place than if you weren’t there. People will act in a special way because you are there. We all do, sure we may say we don’t but the evidence points to us being a certain way due to our environment and who is in it.

That’s why we are different on the days off than we are when we thump that blaring alarm on work mornings.

So if we have this much influence, why do we tend to belittle our effect on the whole world. Apart from it being ingrained into us from a young age, we also struggle with the power of one (or the power we have at our disposal each and every day)

It’s not till we start to understand this power, that we can use it to help us rather than it being a hindrance in our lives. Once we start to see the overall effects we create just by living or being, we can begin to understand how we all have a say on how this world will move.

Just take this example

There was this fly buzzing over a stream. Unbeknownst to the fly there was a trout in the lake. The trout thought to himself, if that fly drops six inches I could jump up and eat him.

Well, unbeknownst to the trout there was a bear behind a rock near the stream. The bear thought to himself, if that fly drops six inches, that trout will jump and I could eat him.

Well, unbeknownst to the bear, across the stream was a hunter. The hunter thought to himself, if that fly drops six inches, that trout will jump causing the bear to lunge, then I could jump out from behind this tree and shoot him.

Well, unbeknownst to the hunter there was a field mouse behind the tree. The mouse thought to himself, if that fly drops six inches, that trout will jump, the bear will lunge, the hunter will shoot and I could get his sandwich.

Well, unbeknownst to the mouse there was a cat hiding in the weeds. The cat thought to himself, if that fly drops six inches the trout will jump, the bear will lunge, the hunter will shoot and the mouse will scamper.

Suddenly, the fly dropped six inches. The trout jumped, the bear lunged, the hunter shot, the mouse went for the sandwich, and the cat pounced and missed and fell into the stream

There is, of course, a moral to this story but I’ll leave that for you to find. My point is that there is plenty going on right across the board, that when we act, we set of a chain of events that send out ripples throughout the pond of life. Sometimes we are part of the continuation, sometimes we are the cause of it all and sometimes we are the person who puts a stop to it, but in all cases, we are involved.

Now when you sit in your office and think about the horrible job you have, you immediately create this ripple effect. In some way, your attitude to your work will be creating waves that will be influencing all around you. Your comments, looks, demeanor, everything creates an effect that you may no longer have control of. This will give you an idea of the responsibility you have around your place.

Likewise, if you love your job, create a positive environment, this also has an effect and although you may have no control over where it will lead, I am sure that a happy mind creates a happy environment and within that happy environment, people will do a lot better within themselves

So, all this rests with you…

Now you are starting to get an idea of the influence you maintain over your life and environment. We all have this same influence and we create these effects all over the place. I contacted a friend of mine recently to say hi and that I missed chatting with her as our paths had diverged somewhat in recent weeks. From what I said, lead her to reply and tell me some things I would never have guessed in a million years. I had created the space for her to tell me but also, in telling me, she had also sent ripples out into the great universe. The series of conversations has influences on us both. Others are yet to feel these influences but the ripple has started and they will.

If we go back to the story, above, about the fly… This story is played out in all our lives everyday. We are usually unaware of it even happening but when we take a closer look; we can see it in bold Technicolor, played out in real life, just by our attitude, whether it is happy or sad, good or bad. As we look out at the world so the world looks in on us. This interplay creates ripples that affect the world within the confines of our environment and also, the world at large

Oh and one more thing might interest you

Whether you do nothing or do something still has an effect on this great world of ours. For some reason the act of doing nothing also creates as many ripples as doing something. Just think of the times you failed to act or just didn’t do something. The very fact that you are there is enough. That’s how important you are in the overall scheme of things.

So I will leave you with that thought… and next time you think about how insignificant you are feeling, think about this little story and create some ripples, you might be surprised at the results

and lets face it, it’s going to happen anyway

Until next week

Cheers… Bill

Bill Gray

Bill is a Business Coach. Working with Individuals, Businesses and Organisations to create better environments and to develop and enhance business ”potential”, into successful business practices.

Sydney, Australia

Ph +61 413 949 521

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