The importance of small acts

In our culture, we are encouraged to dream big and there is no problem with this.

However, the people we revere are entrepreneurs who create world-changing companies, authors who pin best sellers, activists who start movements.

But if we measure our sense of accomplishment against these lofty standards, we can set ourselves up for dissatisfaction and self-judgement. For most of us, our contribution to this world will not make the covers of magazines.

Our accomplishments will be on smaller-scale contributions that take place in our immediate world, among our friends and family in our workplace and within our community.

I invite you to value your own contributions, no matter how small or square, give yourself credit for all the ways you bring goodness into the world. That might mean working on a science project with your nephew. Maintaining a flourishing garden in your front yard for your neighbours to enjoy, or making homemade soup for a sick friend.

Aspire as high as you can dream, but celebrate the actions that are close to the ground, smaller scale doesn’t mean less important. Honour the accomplishment and being a loving parent, a generous friend and a kind-hearted co-worker find a sense of meaning in bringing goodness into your immediate world, even if it goes unnoticed.

Too often we underestimate the power of attaching a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring all of which have the potential to turn a life around.