Little Actions

Little, insignificant, meaningless actions in your life can go a long way in the life of others. I wrote in January the importance of what simply sharing a smile with a stranger could do and will now look to delve deeper into the little actions we participate in and choose to do on a daily basis. Everyone has their own life and everyone has their own perspective. Some of the most interesting perspectives come when stories are told featuring your actions and the impact they had on someone else when in your mind, the action was lost in memory. These stories showcase how minute details and actions we have are capable of holding gravity in the lives of others.

I recently had an old friend call me out of the blue. He had no need to call. He did not call asking for anything. He did not call for any selfish reasons. His purpose of calling was to take a “little action” and give me recognition for what I have been doing over the last couple of months. His little action was picking up the phone and sharing some kind words over a quick phone call. He deployed a deliberate choice and a simple, small action. For all I know he quickly moved on and has not thought about the phone call since. I do not know his exact perspective but I do know it is different than mine. His words touched me and the phone call was the best part of my day. A little over a week later I am still thinking of the phone call as I sit down to share this theme. One action, two perspectives. One action, one large impact.

I bring up a personal anecdote not to plead for attention— far from it. I share the story to show the two sides of perspective when it comes to little actions. Small, deliberate choices on your behalf have the ability to impact those around us in ways we do not anticipate.

There are countless opportunities to take insignificant, little actions in your own life. By doing so we enable our individual contributions to life to shape the perspectives of others in their own ways. What is little to us may be mighty to another. Our little actions are hardly ever meaningless when rooted in deliberation. The little actions matter.