Day 17: How to Make A Difference

Today you will learn about the second moment of revelation on your path to purpose: you can make a difference. You will learn about what it means to make a difference and the next steps in Solutionary thinking to devise solutions and plan for implementation.

Summary

What does it mean to make a difference?

The Second Moment of Revelation: I can contribute something myself and make a difference.

• You observed complex systems from the outside, but you are an integral part of that system, which means that you can make a difference within that system

You are citizen in a highly globalized, highly interconnected network, where the impacts of world's greatest problems are experienced across places.

• Being a global citizen means you integrate and draw connections between the structures, systems and perspectives that underpin issues, including at different scales and different locations.  
• You have to engage in purposeful informed actions with others not just locally, but around the globe.
• However this doesn't mean that you're only helping those far away while being unaware of the effects of one's actions locally.
• You don't perpetuate stereotypes and oversimplify complex issues.
• You seek out diverse perspectives and thinking systems to understand an issue before taking action.
• You're not applying one size fits all solutions to these problems that you have uncovered.

Making a social impact as a global citizen is a measure of the number of people whose lives you improve and how much you improve them, as defined by the organization 80,000 hours. That means there's two ways that you can have more social impact:

• You can help more people
• Or you can help the same number of people to a greater extent.

A few things to keep in mind about making a difference:

• Social impact doesn't necessarily mean saving lives. It could be making improvements to a quality of life, which can be just as significant. This might involve making people happier, helping them reach their potential or making their lives more meaningful.
• We're not always going to get exact objective measurements of social impact.
• Social impact includes all of the people your actions are going to help both immediately and over the coming decades and beyond through indirect impact.

Why should you seek to make a difference?

Taking responsibility for making a difference is beneficial in a few ways:

• When you take on these challenges, it's giving you deep access to meaning and fulfillment.
• You've already seen the suffering and the atrocities happening. What you've seen cannot be unseen. It will compel you to keep looking at the problem until it is solved.
• Because of your unique profile as a person, you may possibly be one of the best people to solve this problem, even if you can't see it now.

How to devise solutions and plan for implementation

To create a solution and plan for implementing it, we will continue our process of Solutionary Thinking.

Step One: Devise Solutions

• Devise solutions to the problem that address root and/or systemic causes, avoid unintended negative consequences, and do the most good and least harm for people, animals, and the environment.
• Look for leverage points you can intervene within the system. Leverage points often exist in deeper levels of complex systems, mental models, beliefs, and values.

• Be aware that some leverage points might theoretically have the biggest impact but are not necessarily the ones that we can or should target.
• Evaluate the likelihood of success based on the feasibility of a successful solution at that leverage point, the impact of the forces that may propel the solution forward, and the impact of the forces that may hold the solution back.
• Once you've identified your best leverage points, write down as many possible solutions as you can think of.
• Evaluate those solutions: Does my solution do the most good and least harm to people, animals in the environment, if not, who is harmed and in what ways?

Step Two: Determine Best Solutions for Implementation

• Determining which solutions are going to do the most good and most feasible for implementation.
• Many factors must be considered when it comes to implementation and the best ideas may not be the ones that you are able to implement because of time, resources, and expertise.
• However it is helpful to identify multiple solutions, even if you're unable to implement them yourself. They will serve as strategy options for you or others in the future.
• Use the Solutionary scale to help identify the best solutions.

In assessing your ideas, consider the following:

• Who or what benefits from this solution?
• Who or what could be harmed from the solution?
• What are possible unintended negative consequences on people, animals, or the environment?
• Where does the solution fall on the Solutionary scale?
• Is this solution feasible for me to implement?
• What time and resources are necessary to implement the solution?
• Do I want to pursue this solution?
• Is it a good use of my talents and interest?

Step Three: Create a Plan for Implementation

• Use the Implementation Plan template below to begin outlining what your solution may look like. Understand that this is only a rough draft. You will go through many iterations of this as you try implementing your plan.

‍

Activity

Begin by devising solutions to the problem you identified in previous lessons.

Then assess which ideas will be best for implementation.

Finally, devise a plan for implementing your solution.

‍

Skill Lesson Mastered

Demonstrate mastery of the knowledge and skills presented in this lesson by applying it to the above activity. If, and only if, you have a full understanding and have mastered the knowledge and skills presented in this lesson, select the next lesson in the navigation.