The Illusion of Insignificance
The Illusion of Insignificance
It's becoming harder than ever to fix big problems, but our influence is not insignificant.
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
Emily Dickinson
When the impact of something is small or isolated it’s easy to convince ourselves it’s not worthwhile.
Most of what we see is amplified by the internet so we see the .01% of things that transcend what’s local or isolated and impacts hundreds of thousands or millions of people.
In comparison, doing something that only affects one person or cannot be easily amplified or replicated seems insignificant.
Insignificant at Scale
What’s the point of donating a few dollars when millions are needed to fix the problem?
What’s the point of going to the gym for 20 minutes if it’s been skipped for the last 10 years?
What’s the point of picking up one piece of trash when hundreds more will be left behind the same day?
There is no point if we think of these problems at their largest scale. Our efforts will make no difference.
If we look at our efforts from the perspective of the individuals impacted, things look completely different.
Powerful Isolated Impact
The one piece of trash can save the life of a fish or turtle. The 20-minute workout can provide energy and focus for the whole day. The few dollars donated can transform someone else’s life.
Just because we’re not presented with the opportunity to influence systematic change or eradicate large problems, doesn’t mean we should give up.
We can’t fix global problems on our own, but we can have a powerful impact on isolated issues and individual people.
Given the opportunity to change someone’s life for the better, we should take it regardless of the impact on broader problems.
Most of us are not in a position to influence outcomes that can change or fix problems at scale.
Rather than focusing on our perceived insignificance in the vastness of the problem, we’d be better off focusing on the isolated or local impact that we can have.
Helping one person, saving one life, or taking a small step forward will always be better than doing nothing at all.
Prompts
What problems do you have in your own life that feel too big to change?
What problems do you care about in the world that feel too big to fix on your own?
What is one small thing you can do this week to have an impact on yourself and someone else with regard to each problem?
Deep Dive
Do Things that Don’t Scale - Paul Graham
A short essay from one of the founders of Y Combinator on the value of doing things that don’t scale.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next Sunday.
Kevin