Photo by John Amachaab on Unsplash
Most people are not all that impressed with themselves. It’s understandable. We are all too aware of our shortcomings and flaws. We all know people who are more talented, gifted, fortunate, or favored than we are. So while we can put on a good mask and work to convey confidence, inside, we know we have fallen short of our potential and, in some cases, downright messed up.
Yet despite your failures and flaws, you have an amazing potential to inspire, bless, lift up, defend, embolden and encourage others. You probably do it more often than you know. Each of us has an incredible opportunity every day to breathe hope, vision, confidence, and courage into others. Don’t discount the impact you are having on others. It’s like breathing. Sometimes you are intentional about how you are breathing, other times not. It happens without you thinking about it. So it is with the way you influence and impact others.
Take a moment even as you finish reading this letter to pause, and consider the people in your life you strengthen and encourage. They are there. I have an author friend, David Buehring, who once told me, “Pay attention to those in whose ears your voice is loud.” Who are you influencing? Who are the people paying attention to you, and how you respond in different situations?
Is it your children? Your neighbors? Your spouse? Your co-workers? How about the people you randomly run into throughout your week – the server at a restaurant, the checkout girl at the grocery store, the person you sit next to on an airplane. Each person is a life that you can enrich. You don’t have to be a philanthropist, pastor, or pontificator of “deep truths.” You just have to be a person who pays attention to the opportunities all around you. You have to be willing to be generous with your kindness, your encouragement, your helpfulness, your wisdom, and your experience.
I suspect, or at least I hope, that one day the eternal curtain will be pulled back, and you will have the opportunity to see just how much good, how much positive influence you have had on the lives of so many people. You don’t have to be rich, noble, or famous – just be you and be available.
So this week, be intentional on focusing less on your failures and more on the opportunities that abound for you to be a person of positive influence and impact. It will make your day!
