Our company ADDO is currently working on an elementary school program called The Voyage that’s dedicated to transforming elementary school students’ perspectives about the decisions they make and the actions they take.
Working on The Voyage provides me an opportunity to interact with elementary school students and teachers, and at a meeting a couple weeks ago, I heard an interesting story about one class.
The teacher went around and asked the students what each of them did to help out at home.
“I help clean the dishes,” said one little girl.
“I clean my room,” followed a little boy.
“I take out the trash,” said another girl.
The children went on like this, volunteering the ways they help out at home. As the students started to grow quiet, the teacher noticed that one of the students had not participated or shared his answer with the class.
“Well, do you help out at home?” she asked.
“Yes, I do,” he said.
“How do you help out?” she followed.
“I stay out of the way!”
While his answer was surprising, and kind of funny, it is also a little sad. The boy may have given the answer in jest, but imagine if he really believes his contribution would always be more harmful than helpful?
This story causes me to reflect on how many adults feel the same way. A lot of people spend their lives living on the sidelines, staying out of the way. They feel like they don’t have anything valuable to bring to the table, so they settle for living their lives as spectators rather than participants.
This is often true of people in the workplace. They show up every day to their job, and their goal is to simply stay out the way. They work through their checklist, answer their emails, wrap up their projects, and go home, even though they see ways to make their company better and their workplace more productive.
If you see something you want changed, don’t be compliant, be a contributor. Take a look at your life right now. Are you spending your time on the sidelines, or are you on the front lines, involved in making your world, your community, or your school a better place?
There’s no better way to see the world changed than to be a part of changing the world.
So what are you waiting for?
Get plugged into your job. Find an opportunity to serve in your church. Sign up to help a local charity. Join the parent teacher organization at your child’s school. Tell your boss about the idea you had this week. Become a person of action.
And when you do, you’ll have a chance to be a part of some amazing things.
