When you hear the idea of improving the world, you normally think about fighting world hunger, finding a solution to war, or solving the global warming crisis among other things. It’s not to say that these issues should be ignored, the point that I am trying to make is that before taking on these audacious goals one must start at the source of the driving force. It is here where the journey towards improving the world must begin. There are a plethora of people in the world that want to make a difference, yet they haven’t made an effort to value and understand the most important place in world, which exists within each and every one of us.
“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” Aldous Huxley
A person’s personal development is an area that is critical when pursing goals such as improving the world. What I find interesting about this concept is the detachment between a person and their surroundings. You normally don’t think of improving the world as an introspective journey, instead it is seen as an external experience that doesn’t involve the self. When in reality it has everything to do with it. I began to understand this concept during my conflict and communication class in college, when my professor lectured on the subject of dealing with negative people. She explained that if you wished to change the behavior of those around you must start by changing the way you behave within yourself. It seemed to me like an oxymoron at first but as began to think about it more and more it started to make sense. Rather than dealing with your external surroundings which in this case would be the people around you, you would divert your attention towards yourself instead. By doing this you gain full responsibility and control of the situation around you. This creates a sense of empowerment and control that is needed when taking on big endeavors; it is the most important prerequisite before taking the first step into the world. What’s your take?
Luis Rosario is the Director of Communications / Event Relations for MorningCoach.com, with an educational background in Sociology and Inter-cultural Communications. His mission is to change the world for the better one event at a time!
Motivation to Improve The World