You want things. He’s only human.
I want things too. I’m only human.
But I bet the ‘things’ you want aren’t necessarily things, objects, bits of physical reality. Or at least, it’s not ALL you want.
You want impact. You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t.
We all start out as little wish machines. We want them to feed us, to change our diapers. We want to be loved.
While that last one doesn’t change, our other wishes do change. We want toys, then electronics, then cars, then houses.
All of that is good. But it does not address the heart.
The essence of who you are asks for something more. You want impact.
The point is, as you grow older, your relationship with desire changes. As a baby, it is just a naked desire for basic care. I hope you are not left wanting, that your basic needs have been satisfied.
As he grew older and his desires increased beyond the basics, he had experiences where they were not fulfilled. You wanted that girl to be your friend. You wanted to excel in a sport. You wanted to go to a good university.
You may have been told that you don’t want, that your wishes were too much, unreasonable, more than you could possibly accomplish. Or that what you wanted was wrong in some way. You may have learned that what you wanted you couldn’t get.
All those experiences, all those voices in your head about not wanting too much, may have diminished what you want. It is no longer other people who stop you. Are you.
Your diminished desire prevents you from having the impact that you could have.
I’m not pointing fingers. The reason I can say this is because I have lived it. I have decreased desire in many ways throughout my life. We all have.
I have been reasonable. I have set myself modest and achievable goals. I have even accomplished many of them. But those achievements do not respond to my desire to have more impact.
Disappointments can shape us, if we let them. They can shape your impact.
You may have toned down your desire for impact. You may have made your impact targets more “reasonable.”
Your impact is a profound expression of who you are. It reflects an essence of you that is unique, that no one else has or can have.
Decreasing your desire to impact rains on the parade of who you are and what you can contribute to others.
I finished diminishing my desire for impact. In fact, I am increasing it. I am taking advantage of my wish. I want to have more impact than ever. Dare I say it: impact that changes the world.
Look, it’s working all the time. Do I even dare to want to have this impact? Who do I think I am? What will other people think?
Do you feel that in your work, in your life? Do these times of the COVID-19 pandemic light a flame in you to be bigger, to contribute more, to be a leader in changing the world in a positive and remarkable way?
Or maybe you are simply sick of being diminished, of diminishing yourself.
If so, keep that flame burning, that desire for impact.
Desire leads to planning, planning leads to action, and action leads to impact.
Decreased desire leads to half-planned, under-the-radar or reluctant action, and less impact.
Your impact matters. To all of us and especially to you. Start to stop lowering your desire for impact.
I am cheering you on. Let’s do it.
