2 weeks 2 hours ago Violet Rose

Many beings have expressed to us that they want to "make a difference" but aren't sure how or don't feel like they can. You all can, and here's why!

This article goes out to all of you who are activists, want to become more involved in activism, or at least think what activists do is important and want to understand it better. If that doesn't apply to you, you probably won't be interested in this – but if so, you probably wouldn't be reading this either!

Possibly the most pervasive and damaging misconception about activism is that if you don't "change the world", the whole world, if your idea of an unacceptable social state is still the statistical norm overall, then your efforts are futile – or, at best, nothing more than a tiny bit of progress towards a goal that won't be achieved for generations to come.

Obviously, with that outlook, it's pretty hard to stay motivated to keep trying. Fortunately, this is absolutely not true. And yet, this idea is responsible for a huge amount of the pervasive learned helplessness that plagues our world. In reality, "making a difference" is exactly what it is – making a difference between the way things are and the way they could be.

Think, for a moment, about some of the important occasions in your own existence where someone helped you, or defended you. Then, think about some of the occasions where someone hurt you. And finally, think about how different things would be for you today if, in each instance, they hadn't had the effect on you that they did, or had done the opposite instead.

For most of us, that'd change a lot. It could be a lot better, it could be a lot worse. That'd be a big deal, right? Well, that just goes to show that a big deal change doesn't have to be sweeping change across all of society to qualify as success. Obviously, we want the biggest changes we can achieve, but every bit really does matter.

Some of you may feel like there's not a lot you can do, but I disagree. If even beings who aren't activists – who haven't set out to make a difference in a focused and determined way – can still end up changing things a lot for you, imagine what's possible for someone who treats that as a cause, and keeps at it long-term.

I say that if even a single being can point to your efforts as the reason their existence today is better than it would have been without you, you've made a difference that matters. More is even better than that, obviously, but even that much is enough.

So take heart, lift your chin up, and believe in yourself, okay? This is something every one of us has the capacity to do – change the part of the world here!