As I wrote in my last post, since turning 50 I’ve found myself wrestling more often with those big, existential questions. It’s a real tension: my mission is to help people connect with information and inspire them to reach their potential, yet sometimes the world stage makes it feel like we’re heading in the opposite direction.
We’re all aware of the massive challenges we face, like global warming and inequality. Reports like the IPCC’s make it clear that decisive action is needed. But when we look to global leaders or large organisations for solutions, we often see a focus on short-term gains and political self-interest rather than the real changes we need.
It can be incredibly disheartening and I find it natural to wonder, “What the fuck is the point of it all?” What chance is there of any meaningful and lasting change, when the only people interested are those of us here on the ground? People who exist in real communities and not up in the rarified atmosphere of global leadership.
But here is what I’ve come to realise: The struggle of these leaders to offer a clear strategy actually highlights the incredible power of small, intentional, local actions.
The Big Picture vs. The Local View
A lot of our frustration comes from the sheer scale of these issues. When we look at one another as the “crowd,” it’s easy to generalise and feel let down by what seems like a lack of direction.
However, my work with leaders and teams has shown me something important. Big corporate organisations are a useful lens to look through to understand this subject. While these large companies often share the same problems—like lack of long-term strategy or the tyranny of internal politics—the solutions are almost always personal and local. Organisations are just groups of people working together. When enough of those people change themselves—and then demand change more globally—wonderful things are indeed possible.
So to see real and positive change in the world, maybe we need to stop waiting for distant institutions and disconnected politicians to save us? Instead, we can focus on the things that we can actually control: our own energy, our immediate sphere of influence, and our own commitment to purpose.
The alternative is just to give up and accept that we’re all doomed. Tempting as that can be at times, it’s not going to make the world better for anyone.
Three Ways to Make a Difference Right Here
As I navigate this myself, my advice (to me as much as anyone reading this) is that a brighter future starts right on our own doorsteps. Through changing ourselves and showing up consistently to make positive changes stick.
If trying to plan for an uncertain global future feels futile or just too big, perhaps our energy is better spent on creating positive steps closer to home?
1. Keep Your Own Battery Charged
It’s hard to shine a light for others if your own battery is dead. Handling the world’s complexity starts with your own internal clarity and the maintenance of your energy levels:
- Prioritise good habits: Stick to the basics that you know keep you grounded. For me those are simple things like a gratitude practice, mindfulness, and staying active. Even just five minutes of meditation can help reset your mindset for the day.
- Be Kind to Yourself: Try to let go of obsessive perfectionism. Something good done right now is often better than something perfect that never gets finished. Be kind to yourself. When we beat ourselves up, we lose the energy we need to do good work.
- Protect Your Energy: Personally, I find that it helps to consciously step away from time-sinks like doom-scrolling social media or YouTube. Our minds need time to be disconnected from the noise. Protecting time for rest isn’t selfish; it’s essential for being effective.
2. Live Your Purpose Where You Are
If your goal (like mine) is to connect and inspire, remember that you can do that through teaching, guiding, and mentoring people right where you are.
- Help your neighbours: Look at the organisations and leaders around you. How can your skills help them define a better future or fix their culture? Helping create environments where people feel inspired is a huge win.
- Share your voice: Words have power! Whether it’s speaking, blogging or writing a book—whatever you do to make your voice heard, keep creating. Even if you feel like you’re struggling for substance, just having ideas and sharing them brings them to life. It’s pretty much the whole point of this blog!
- Be a catalyst: When you feel the tension, don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo. If you’re in a tough environment, try leading with a servant’s heart. Show up for the people around you regardless of your chances of success. Because sometimes you have to stir things up a little to bring about real change, but that can take time.
3. Focus on One Step at a Time
The best antidote to despair about the “big picture” is believing that our actions matter. But as I’ve written before, momentum is our friend here and inertia, the enemy. Just take that first step, no matter how ineffectual it might feel. Because that action will lead to another, and another, and so on… Momentum will build and that is the only way real change ever happens.
The reality is, despite the enormity of the challenges we see around us, the only person you can truly change is yourself. By striving to be your best self today, and doing it again tomorrow, you accomplish two things: you fulfill your own potential, and you positively impact everyone around you.
The cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead said this:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
Change really does happen at the micro-level where most of us find ourselves day-to-day. And if you’re still feeling small and hopeless, take heed from the words of tennis champion Arthur Ashe:
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
Even if the impact of what you can do feels small and local, even if you lack resources, taking that first action is a powerful – and perhaps the only – way to navigate a complex world.
That Richard Bloke 