Making an Impact with Purpose

As I was driving the other day in the car, a thought came to my mind. I began to think about all of those in my life who have made an impact, large or small, and how many of these people may not even know the lasting impact they have had on my life. And it got me thinking, how many lives have I impacted?

I am sure, like the others who have impacted me, that it is many. It is the wonderful thing about human beings — we are designed to help each other. Sometimes, we help without evening trying. It made me continue to think about we can use our experiences in our own lives to impact the lives of others. We spend so much of our lives trying to uncover our purpose, but what if our purpose is to be here to help others. To be kind in our encounters, and to make a big impact in a small way.

Complementing someone in line at the store, sending a nice message to a friend you haven’t heard from, offering advice to someone in need, helping someone with a dead car battery get up and running — the ways we can make an impact goes on.

From my own experience, I can think of many times a stranger helped me out, made a lasting impact, and I will never forget that. Recently, while on a trip to Vermont with my fiance, when we got into our car to begin our day and my car wouldn’t start. The owner of the inn allowed us to use his battery pack for the day, so we could travel to a local auto parts store nearby, to soon find my alternator died, and there was only one left in the entire state. However, that was half the battle, we needed to find a mechanic as well, AND it was a Saturday. I quickly called the closest place I could find on Google, and the mechanic was willing to help us out by putting his scheduled work aside so we could get back on the road the following day to travel home. If he was unable to help us, we would have had to wait until Monday. Not only did he help us by installing the part, but he did it so quickly, keeping in mind that we were on vacation and wanted to enjoy our day. That was a lasting impact. That was human kindness in its purest form.

Let this story inspire you to be more helpful, and more kind, even when it is difficult. It is easy to forget when we are in the thick of it and facing our own struggles, that we have the power to make an impact. Our purpose as a collective is to help each other. To make an impact.