| “No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” ~ credited to philosopher Voltaire and Polish poet Stanislaw Jerzy Lec Every election, I feel like a snowflake. I am not responsible for the choices on the ballot. My vote doesn’t feel like it impacts the election. And I practically forget about the candidates until the next election. I vote anyway. I cajole myself into the voting booth with mental reminders that voting is a privilege. Inevitably when some candidate loses by 100,000 votes, it affirms my feelings of insignificance in the voting process. Until last year. Three people ran for my neighborhood’s alderman seat on the City Council. I was in the voting booth, about to vote for Candidate #1, who had an excellent reputation in town, but I changed my mind. Why? Because I remembered meeting Candidate #2. I liked her, and I promised her that she had my vote. The result? Candidate #3 won. Candidate #2 lost by a lot. And Candidate #1? The one I had intended to vote for? He lost by one vote. My vote! Yikes. No longer a snowflake, I felt like a snowplow! Whether it’s voting, watching the news, reading about climate issues, or working at large organizations, it’s easy to feel insignificant. And when we do, we look for absolution, quickly arguing “not my responsibility” or “not my problem” or “what difference does it make?” But what if “feeling responsible” is not about accepting blame but about owning our power to influence? What if it’s steeped in a fervent belief that we can impact the greater good with our actions or inactions? Think about all the seemingly insignificant actions we take regularly that ultimately influence others, sometimes significantly:
Not because we have to but because we want to. Because we know our contributions will make a difference in some way. Now, what if we leaned into our ability to affect situations for the better? What impact – big or small – could we make at work and in the world? Snowflakes don’t believe in their power to influence. But snowmen (and snowwomen!) always do. © 2021. Ann Tardy and Mentor Lead. www.mentorlead.com |