Snack #48 - Does impact = misery?

A similar title was the title of a short article on RadReads, and it ties directly to what I’ve been thinking about and discussing with Taylor. Do we really want to impact people? What does impact people mean? How is it measured?

But most importantly - WHY do we want to impact people?

Short answer - it makes me feel better. I impact people’s lives, and that validates me, and shows that I have value to give other people and therefore I am valuable in this life, and that affirmation feels warm and nice.

We also know that relying on external validation isn’t a good long-term strategy, so if I mostly care about internal validation, is the impact that important to me?

Well, I don’t know. I know for a fact that I already changed people’s lives, but who’s to say what number is high enough for me to at least stop trying so hard?

I know I was a positive influence on at least 10 people in my life, and I keep reminding myself that if I just helped 1 person, that should be enough, but clearly, I’m here. Something keeps holding me back.

It’s the contradiction between wanting to impact and being content with how things are - you have to believe things can be better when they are different, to fuel the change.

As I’m going through life and many interesting lessons, I learn that what is fuel today might be expired tomorrow.