Athletics & Average Advice: How to be a mindful superstar

How to make a difference (Small & Large)

With all that's been going on in the world, you would think someone out there doesn't care about anyone but themselves. Do you believe that there isn't enough love in the world? Do you believe that people don't deserve to suffer? Do you believe that anyone can make a difference and be a brighter light in someone's life? If you can answer yes to all or any of these questions, then you'd be correct. One might ask, "How can I make a difference in someone's life? How can I impact my community?" Honestly, it's a lot easier now to reach people than you think. Once again, actions speak louder than words. You can say something, but not mean it. You can mean something and not say it. Have you ever made a difference in someone's life and just made their darkness turn to light? If yes, then I applaud you for it. Making a difference can lead to a happier and healthier society. How can you make a difference right now? Well, it doesn't have to necessarily be a volunteer activity (although it's one of the easiest ways to give back). It could be as simple as saying something positive to someone when they're having a bad day. Here are a few tips that I use to make a difference in my community and to the people that matter:

Positive encouragement goes further than you think

Sometimes, words mean something. Sometimes, you or someone else may have a bad day. We all have our good days and our bad days. Little do you know that you can easily make someone's day by sending them positive encouragement. Speaking positive over people's lives is a way of making a difference. If you see someone down, go and pick them up. You could make their day much brighter through your encouragement. Believe me, your good deeds will be rewarded. Have you ever heard the saying, "The energy that you put into the universe will come back to you?" Well, why not put positive energy into the world by encourage others. I've learned to pick people up instead of putting them down and judging them for their decisions. At the end of the day, I had to realize people are going to do what they feel is in their best interest and I shouldn't address them. Why not encourage them to be great instead of criticizing them for what they do. I had a friend in college who would go into professor's classrooms and talk about various topics that ranged from mental health, to sexual health and awareness. I remember one day during our free time over smoothies she told me about one of her presentations. At first, I thought she was just telling me about it just to tell me. Shen then explains that after the presentation, one of the students thanked her for speaking out on the topic and says that she'll seek the help that she needs. This showed me that educating people and speaking about certain topics can generate positive behavior. Positive encouragement can even give you a burst of energy! I'm telling you it can do wonders for people!

Volunteer in your local community

This is probably one of the more obvious reasons. It's easy to make a difference when you're involved in your local community. A lot of non-profit organizations are always looking for volunteers to further their mission. Why not use some of your free time to help with a cause? If you want to see change in the world, be the change. It starts with the initiative that you take. You can talk about making changes and making a difference all day. Talking won't get things done fast. Actions will. When I was still in undergrad, the athletic department tasked the student athletes with gathering supplies for our conference rivals who were affected during Hurricane Harvey. After a few weeks of gathering supplies from each sports team, we then gathered at a large trailer to pack the supplies up. Despite not wanting to be up early in the morning on a Saturday, it was worth it. We all got to do something for a cause, and we got to do it together. When you bring a group of people together to accomplish something, anything is possible. During my time after graduating, I would always go out and volunteer after work whenever I wasn't busy coaching and training. My passion for helping people most likely exceeds the next person's if we're being honest. It was such a rewarding feeling and it made me feel good knowing that someone who has less than me is getting the support that they need. Helping others really allows you to appreciate the things that you have. Even on your worst days, there is somebody who's probably off worse than you are. Remember that. Go out and volunteer and start making a difference in your community!

Making a difference starts within

Start with yourself first. If you want to make a difference, you must be willing to change as well. You're a completely different person when you begin to make a difference. You become more selfless and not selfish. Making a difference starts with recognizing your inner self. You need to ask yourself, "Do I really want to help the world?" Honestly, you shouldn't have to ask yourself that question. You should want to help the world be a better place, but I know some people need further encouraging to do such a thing. If they won't listen to other people, they'll listen to themselves. Making a difference within yourself is helpful. How can you want better for the world around you when you can't even want better for yourself? In high school, my school required all of the students to get 100 hours of community service by the time they graduate. At first, I saw volunteer work for what it was, volunteer work. It was a way to get the community service hours that were required. I didn't think about the good I was doing. I just needed my hours. It wasn't until my junior year of college that I realized I wanted to have an impact on people. It was then that I began to ask myself, "What changes can I make with myself to start making a difference now?" I haven't looked back since then and I know my time and effort spent helping people hasn't gone unnoticed. Start with you first. Then, go out and make a change.

Don't do your good deeds just to post them on social media

I'm sure I'm not the only person who's seen some form of good deed done on the internet. If I am, then everyone must live under a rock. Sometimes, I feel as if people do good deeds and post them to social media just for a like or a retweet. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but not everything needs to be posted. I will say that some people need the validation of others to feel that they did something good and to show that they're a good person. If you're a good person, you do things out of the kindness of your heart, not for the validation of others. I truly believe that the best deeds are the ones not posted on social media. I'm sure they'll probably get on there one way or another, but that's usually from news outlets. They can report that stuff because that's their job. At the end of the day, you're entitled to do what you want. I'm just here to tell you that not every good deed needs to be on social media. Just do it out of the kindness of your heart and your reward is going to be bigger.

Gather a group of people on the same mission

Alone, we can accomplish things. Together, we can accomplish things faster. If you want to make a difference faster, gather people who are on the same mission as you are. If you want to make a difference, find someone who wants to help you make that difference. Your friends are a great example of people whom you could gather. If not, I'm sure there are people out there who want the same change that you're looking for. Why would you ask someone who doesn't share the same mission and vision as you? It's a waste of time. When you and a group of people are on the same mission, you are unstoppable. Who can stop a group like that? During my junior year of college, I did some volunteer work with an organization on campus. I met a lot of interesting individuals in the organization and saw that they had the same ideas and visions that I did. We worked together on implementing projects that would benefit students on campus and we saw the projects have a lot of success.

I hope some of my tips didn't fall short of the mark. I hope that you all can incorporate some of them into your life and start to make a difference in not only your life, but others as well.