how your actions have a direct effect on others

You have been affected by every single person you’ve met and every single person you’ve ever met has been affected by you in some way.

This effect could be the tiniest thing like saying Good morning could brighten someone’s day or leaving the door open for someone causes them to be a minute earlier to work. The effects we have on others could be small or catastrophic.

This is commonly called the Ripple Effect or the Butterfly Effect. Each specific action or word causes specific reactions and responses.  And some of these reactions have long-lasting effects.

According to Newton’s third law of motion,

‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

All of your actions can affects those around you and conversely, the actions and words of others have the power to affect change in you.

The Charles Effect

A few years ago, I met this man, let’s call him Charles. I swear to you that’s not the man’s real name (maybe). I was working with an organization to have one of my plays developed into a sitcom and they brought in Charles who they described as a well-connected and experienced director.

We worked together on that project for approximately a year and six months until finally, abandoning the project when our editor refused to finish our pilot episode. Throughout us working together Charles and I had various creative differences.

But at the time I was new to the world of film and screenwriting, so I trusted his knowledge and expertise. But then one day, at the height of one of our classic arguments about the project, he turned to me and said ‘Comedy will get you nowhere.’ Well…alyuh know I fully trip! (trini accent).  

At that point, he had already begun to rub me the wrong way. At first, he seemed cool but that coolness quickly turned into arrogance when he didn’t get his way. So I calmly pulled away and eventually ended our working relationship.

I tell this story because even though working with Charles drove me up a wall. He was the catalyst to get me to create comedic videos online.  When he bold-facedly told me that writing and producing comedic material would get me NOWHERE! I wanted to prove him WRONG!

(this draws back up some anger)                                 

I had already learned how to do simple editing but working with him taught me some film editing techniques that I used when I began creating content.  Even though the project wasn’t successful, working with Charles pushed me into another phase of my creative career.

The point is that I started creating content because some man told me that I wouldn’t be successful doing it.

I can acknowledge that his mean words gave me the courage to start something new and I can say that the reason I’m still doing it now, has nothing to do with him. It makes me a bit angry to say this but Charles’ words caused a ripple effect in my life. Every person you interact with can impact your life and the opposite is also true. You can affect people’s lives by your words and your actions.  

The Power of Change

One day in secondary school my English teacher was teaching oxymorons. She listed a few examples but one stood out to me and never left my mind since “The only thing constant in life is change.” Part of the reason why it stuck in my head is because I thought it was stupid. How can something stay the same and yet constantly be different?

Of course, as aphorisms go this is probably the truest statement in the entire universe. Everything in life is constantly changing. Days turn into nights. Relationships begin and end. People are born and then die.  The amount of money you make fluctuates throughout your entire life (this is something I had to come to terms with, story for another time). And yet we’re so against change. We’re so anti-difference. We want things to remain the same even though that’s not the natural order of life.

Some people only come into your life for a season. You know exactly who I’m talking about. That ex that you keep thinking about, it’s time to let them go. There are lessons you learn about yourself and the world around you through the people you interact with. But, unfortunately, no one in your life is permanent. Ouch. Yea, I know it’s a hard pill to swallow.

As I get older, I now have to now face the possibility that my parents will most likely die before me. One day I will wake up and my father will be gone. He will no longer be in my life.  He was there, and then he wouldn’t be. He isn’t permanent and so am I.

We must learn to embrace the changes that will come. We must learn to accept the ephemeral nature of everything and everyone around us. But it isn’t all doom and gloom, by understanding that nothing is permanent we now have the power to enact change within ourselves and the world around us.

Whether we’re mindful of it or not we are affecting others by our words and actions. We are creating ripple effects that can change the course of your life or the lives of those around you.

Conclusion

When Nyol and I created BE Entertainment our goal was to affect change within our community by enhancing the local entertainment industry and providing opportunities for young people. For a while, I had forgotten about that goal, getting caught up with acquiring sponsors and making sure our business stayed afloat.

But I recently viewed some of our documents and I came across our vision statement, it says ‘BE Entertainment will be a blessing to every life we encounter.’ That’s a really crazy objective but I believe it’s a worthy one.

You only have one life, one chance, one existence. What you say and do matters. Because with every word and action, you are creating changes in your life and affecting others around you, whether you’re conscious of it or not.

Remember,

Tell Your Story.

Niques.