It’s not a stretch to say that each one of wants to live in a better world. We want to see an improvement to our current circumstance.
Perhaps that means better for you personally, with a better job or a better house. Maybe you want better for your family and loved ones. Or maybe you hope for a better world for humanity in general, with longer life spans and better overall health.
However, things don’t get better unless someone drives that improvement. You can hope that you are the beneficiary of the work of someone else, but to see change, positive change, in your life you have to work at it.
Maybe that means that you need to ask your boss for a raise. Or perhaps you attend a march for a cause you believe in. You might attend a city council meeting, or donate money to a charity.
There are lots of ways to affect change, but first you need to know what improvement you want to see. Then you must take some action if you really want things to get better. Be the change you want to see in the world.
So what do you do? What actions do you take, what conversations are you a part of, what organizations do you join? What do you do to make the world a better place?
Related questions: How can we turn ideas into actions? What are our responsibilities to others? How do you define success? What are you optimistic about? Is it a cruel world?
Following the “Golden Rule” as much as I can.
I strive to make the world a better place through both my career and personal pursuits.
For example, for more than 20 years I’ve devoted my career to advancing economic and social justice. Whether it’s been for an end to homelessness, to increase the stock of quality affordable housing, or to ensure that everyone has access to safe, healthy, and affordable food no matter where they live or how much they make, I’ve been fortunate to match some of my passions to the work that I do. Granted, sometimes it feels as if the endeavors are Sisyphean efforts — successful work on the state or local level gets overwhelmed by retreats in a federal response. That said, I do feel like the world is (in a small way) better because of my professional advocacy.
On a personal level, for almost 15 years I’ve been public about my struggles with Depression and Anxiety. I’ve done this, amongst other reasons, to try to change misperceptions about the mental health disorders as well as end the discrimination that many living with mental illnesses face. During this time, most of my advocacy has been in simply being open about my experiences, so that I can change minds in a one-on-one fashion; although I’ve also made my share of calls to elected officials to do their part in meeting the needs of their constituents. Added to this, many of people know that for the past three and a half years, I’ve used my blog, http://www.pronetohope.com, to make my case to somewhat larger audience.
And lastly, for about half a dozen years, I’ve been an advocate for heirloom gardening. With the diversity of the world’s seed supply so dangerously low, we need to increase the saving and use of older (sometimes ancient) seed varieties to make the global food system more resilient. Of course, in growing heirloom vegetables, I also get to grow foods that: (1) look very interesting (e.g. maroon-colored amaranth, striped string beans, multi-colored tomatoes) and (2) tastes wonderful and is unlike anything I would ever find in a grocery store (e.g. lettuces, winter squashes, and — again — those multi-colored tomatoes).
Do you have a passion that would help make our society a better place? If so, I encourage you to get active if you’re not already. The world needs more peacemakers, justice-doers, advocates, and activists.
Since 2003 I have been one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and an ordained minister. I conduct personal Bible studies with anyone who wants to learn about what the Bible really teaches us and how following it’s principles betters, not only their lives, but the lives of their families and others around them.
For many years I have been trying to reduce my carbon footprint by growing and preserving much of the produce that my family consumes. What I don’t grow I try to buy local and in season.
“Our Father/Mother, in heaven, hallowed is your name…your reign come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” … Thus begins my daily prayer. I believe that God can make the world a better place if I let him use me, along with others, to be his/her hands, feet, eyes, ears and heart. My experience the last forty years has been that prayer leads to action that makes the world better.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. (smile).
Thanks for explaining that things won’t get better until someone drives improvement, by doing something like donating to a charity or attending a march for a cause we care about. My husband and I have been talking lately about how we want to be more active in political issues. I’m glad I read your article because it helped me feel more motivated to drive change in my community.