It’s easy to live a life of no impact because it’s easy to become the kind of person the world wants us to be. We can easily let our life drift into a realm of no purpose—a vacuum formed by focusing on the lesser things of life.
But here’s the reality: if you want to make a difference, you must be different.
This is why living like Jesus is so vital today. Within the life of Jesus is the blueprint to how our life should be lived—with meaning, purpose, and intentionality.
Yet, we often abandon this truth because to live like Jesus doesn’t seem practical.
Well, the truth is, it is possible to live like Jesus because anyone can do something amazing with their life. Anyone can be a hero and offer great value to the world. Anyone can resist the strong pull of our culture to become the different kind of person this world needs.
But if you’re looking for practical secrets to begin in the direction of making a difference, here are 11 of them.
1. Do less.
Many of us believe that doing more equals greater impact. But recently I learned this is quite the opposite. In fact, the more boundaries and limits I placed around the work I did, the more results I saw come in.
Choose what’s important to you and do it. Don’t try doing it all.
2. Avoid unnecessary arguments.
People will often try to drag you into a debate or problem that has no solution. These are distractions to your work. What you need instead is to build the emotional resiliency to not get fired up when you hear of these unsolvable problems. You’ll instead use this time to craft what you need to say. Know which battles to leave and which ones to fight.
3. Become a how-to person.
Jesus was a how-to person, teaching others how to live a life worthy of the Kingdom of God. This is the beauty of being a how-to person: we help others. Many people instead are opinion people—they love telling others what they think. But this only churns the pot instead of helping them. Instead, seek to add value into a person’s life by developing a special, unique knowledge, and using it to benefit people.
4. Strive to work a job that reflects your values.
Many of you might believe you don’t have a choice in the kind of job you work. But believing this removes meaning from what we do for most of our week. Work is not a means to an end. It is a blessing. It is a gift that if we steward right, can be of great impact. It is our responsibility to work jobs that reflect our values, or to make our current job reflect our values. In doing so, we can be proud of our work and in turn make a greater impact with it.
5. Stop looking for constant validation.
Sometimes, our desire for validation can paralyze us from making a difference. It’s true that we can busy ourselves looking for encouragement rather than doing the work that needs to be done. If this is you, try to find stable truths to tell yourself—truths that’ll stop you from looking to others before you do work that matters.
6. Establish a routine of small habits.
Routines enshrine the tasks that help you make a difference. They make them second nature, while also helping you to avoid the downtime that often begets distraction. Make use of your time with a routine of habits that benefit your mission.
7. Don’t fixate on your future.
People say to focus on the future, but that can be harmful advice. The more we dwell on how we want things to be, the harder it becomes to let go of those things when life doesn’t happen the way we want. Instead, we need to hold our desires with an open hand. It’ll free us up to possibly pursue more meaningful things that come our way.
8. Avoid being a workaholic.
Working all the time doesn’t make your life anymore valuable. Impact is not always measured in profit and productivity. Impact is also measured in love. Make sure to spend time with those whom you love, and life will lead a more meaningful and valuable life.
9. Create a filter for your information consumption.
It’s difficult to create great work when what we’re consuming is garbage. Instead, define what work you want to be doing, and use that as a filter for the type of information you consume. For instance, if you want to lead your family well, don’t listen to resources that tell you to spend all your time working. Find the resources that coincide with your mission, and soon, you’ll be creating out of an excess of that information.
10. Create space for your spirituality and character to thrive.
Your faith cannot grow unless it has room to breathe. In other words, find times to remove yourself from the noise of our culture. Find silence in the morning or at night, and use that time to reflect on your inner life. Having this time is crucial, considering that most of our culture is concerned about our production, not our character.
When it comes to doing something amazing, you must be different. Jesus exemplified that well with His life by implementing the disciplines and practices stated above.
Now, it’s your turn. Don’t move with the pull of culture and become like everyone else. Strive to be different and let your legacy speak for itself.
Be different and do something amazing with your life.
Photography by Mikaela Hamilton
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