How to Make Your Mark

It is a common assumption that every human being wants to make a mark. But the truth is that there are very few human beings who are really making a difference with their lives. Some experts have said that less than 3% of human beings are living a goal-oriented life that is making a difference for their communities. Why is this so? I think it boils down to our choices. Our life choices really determine whether we live a life that makes a mark or we live a purposeless existence. The few who make a mark choose to live lives that will make a difference. Our choices set the course of our life.

Many of us complain that it’s tough to make a choice to do something that will make a difference. This is not true. Just as we have made choices to live the lives that we are currently living, we can make choices to live a different kind of life. Any day we wish, we can change our choices. Any day we wish, we can pursue a radically different way of life. Any day we wish, we can stop living for ourselves and start making a difference. Any day we wish, we can redefine who we are and alter the direction of our life. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

Many of us choose to do nothing. We prefer to live in the quiet shelter of our personal problems rather than be a solution to someone else’s problem. That is why Henry David Thoreau said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Rather than make a choice to do something about our lives, we settle into accepting what life gives us. We pretend not to see the many opportunities that present themselves before us for making a mark. When the idea of making a choice that will get us out of our comfort zone is presented to us, we choose to stay where we are.

Few of us will choose to make a mark with our lives. We cannot continue to loath life as it is yet not deal with what makes it as it is. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, ‘The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.’ Our past choices created our current circumstances. We can make better choices today that will guarantee us a better tomorrow. Choose to make better choices that will make a mark. Choose to contribute to the good that is happening around you. Choose to make a difference today!