Rat Race Running

Last Updated on April 15, 2023

Many people want to create an immediate impact and make a dent in the world. Unfortunately, only a few will succeed in making this drastic change.

Though the thought of doing something worthwhile that will change a community has always been on my mind, I had a shift in mindset.

When I started my journey away from the rat race, I realized that aiming for big-impact goals would be harder because the path of simplicity is also one of my goals. 

I also realized that trying to change established systems will require a lot of resources and support, and running away from the rat race will take more work.

Limit The Scope, Never The Purpose

After changing my perspective about big goals, I also learned that I can still make an impact – only, this time, on a smaller crowd or even one person’s life.

I love this quote from Leo Tolstoy. He said everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

This is very true in our generation. So many people want to be influencers and hit it big on the Internet, but their influence is sometimes failing to make a positive impact with their reach.

And sadly, many of them also don’t want to be influenced by other people because of their inflated egos, even if it is for the better.

Through this realization, I learned that if I want to impact my immediate community positively, I should stop aiming for the macro level. Instead, I should focus on the micro.

Create an Impact For One Person

When I left my previous corporate job to teach, I landed a job as a college instructor at a college in my home province.

During that time, I was too idealistic. I wanted to incorporate many best practices and knowledge I learned from the private industry into government offices and education.

Unfortunately, I never imagined introducing new practices that would challenge the status quo would be almost impossible at my then-current level.

So after three years and a suitcase full of frustrations and heartaches, I left the job I love.

But teaching was a breath of fresh air in my journey away from the rat race, and sharing what I know with my students was more than rewarding – it was also fulfilling.

So, instead of aiming to change the system, I changed my focus to impacting at least one person in their journey.

We Don’t Have To Change People’s Minds

One of the main goals of this blog was initially to be my online journal about running and my journey away from the rat race.

However, as time went by, its purpose also changed, and it became more of an avenue to share what I learned along the way with people who also shared my struggles.

During my journey in quarter-life crisis, I learned that each person has a different experience, but there may also be similarities.

And through those similarities, that is where this blog can help them. Personal finance, career, and life changes are crucial, which is why I focused on those topics.

But it was never my goal to change people’s minds because I learned it isn’t easy. It may even go south if you keep pressing your ideals on other people.

On the other hand, when someone is ready to learn, they will find a teacher that will guide them (or a teacher will see them).

How To Influence One Person

Each person’s circumstances will differ, so our approach will also vary. And it is crucial to know when to give a piece of advice or not.

Here are some of the things that I learned about how we can create an impact on at least one.

1. Be an Example.

People don’t follow words; they follow actions. So if we want to impact at least one person, we need to set a good example of someone worthy of following.

We need to look at ourselves and reflect on our improvement journey.

How did we choose the persons we wanted to emulate? Didn’t we also align our goals with what we want to learn from our potential mentors?

So, whether we teach a class in a school setting or with a friend over a coffee, we need to be authentic because people will see through us if we are all talk.

2. Meet Them Where They Are.

Since each person’s journey is not a straight line, we can’t be sure where they are on their journey, so the best thing we can do is listen to their stories and concerns.

We can’t simply impose what we know or what worked for us because many variables contributed to its eventual outcome.

These variables include our family backgrounds, financial capacity, educational status, and environment.

However, if they choose to come to you, we must be humble enough to realize that we don’t always have the answer.

3. Accompany Them In Their Journey.

Each journey is unique, and we will have different trials. Likewise, when we aim to impact someone’s life, we must move along with them at their own pace.

We must move at their pace and not push too hard because everyone has their ways and learning speed.

4. We Must Also Accept Criticism.

We are not perfect, and we are limited by our knowledge and experiences. So it will be arrogant to assume that our experiences are true to all.

So when an incident happens that we are proved wrong, then we need to accept it, change for the better, and move on.

We can’t give constructive criticism to others if we don’t know how to accept complaints if we are on the receiving end.

Final Thought

Aiming to change the world or even a community is difficult, if possible, for most of us. However, it should not hinder us if we have the right resources.

If we want to create immediate change, we should start by creating an impact on one person. It can be a friend, a family member, or a stranger on the Internet through a blog.

May God bless our journey as we create an impact – one person at a time.