What Is a Change Agent?
A change agent is one who helps make the world a slightly better place simply by adjusting her or his own behavior. It’s not always easy to understand why bad things happen in the world. In particular, it is very difficult to understand when devastating acts are committed against seemingly innocent people. What is easy, however, is to become cynical or even apathetic to the world around us and believe that people in the world will always practice ill-will toward others. A change agent refuses to accept such thinking and even goes a step further by making personal sacrifices in order to help change the world for the better.
There’s an old adage explaining that hurt people hurt people. As this statement makes quite clear, some people choose to harm others as a result of the pain and turmoil that lives within them. This pain may be directly caused by an individual or may be the indirect result of living in a world where so much pain seems to naturally exist.
Everyone Has the Power to Become a Change Agent
Contrary to what some may believe, each and every person has a unique ability to change the world. After all, it is a person’s experience in the world that causes her to act one way or react in another. It is this same set of experiences that convinces people that the world is either a good place or a bad one.
The Art of Becoming an Agent of Change
The following are simple things that each person can do to improve the collective human experience. With committed practice, these activities can become habits and can influence others towards change, as well. The following may not always be the easiest acts to perform, but they are very simple activities, which require nothing more than the will to be a force of change in the world:
1. Pay it forward – Most people understand the concept of paying someone back for a kindness received. This concept is only slightly different in that instead of paying a person back for a good gesture, that kindness is offered to another person in the future and that person is asked to do the same for someone else and so on. Paying a kindness forward brings grace into the world and helps create space for it to spread exponentially.
2. Practice random acts of kindness – Similar to the concept of paying it forward, practicing random acts of kindness is a way of brightening a stranger’s day with a completely unexpected gift or favor. The idea here is that a randomly kind act will have a ripple effect and slowly, but progressively, change the ways in which people interact with one another. Practicing random acts of kindness goes a long way to stifle selfish or self-centered behavior. Such activities are also contagious and rapidly inspire the growth of new change agents as a result.
3. Pray for “bad” people – This one may be a bit difficult for some, but it is also one of the most effective ways to change the world. After all, these people are the crux of the problem and, therefore, the ones who need the most addressing. Understanding that not everyone practices prayer in a religious sense, think of it as bearing hopeful thoughts that people who harm others will have experiences that will make them want to do, act and react in better ways. Keep kind thoughts in mind for these people in hopes that each will experience a complete overhaul of heart, mind and attitude. It is very easy to write people off as evil, place them in prisons and hope that they never see the light of day. While punishments for crimes committed are a necessity in society, so is rehabilitation. Whether behind bars or living in a free society, every agent of change’s hope should be that people undergo positive transformations in order to stop inflicting pain on others.
4. Practice compassion – When humans lose the ability to offer compassion, the world becomes a dangerous place to live. Individuals must be concerned about others and feel a sense of concern when other people suffer. Often, people act in disastrous ways as a result of feeling unrecognized, lonely, invalidated and unloved. As humans act compassionately toward one another, however, these attitudes can be softened and changed. Compassion can be practiced simply by offering a kind word to someone who is down on her or his luck, offering to help someone in need or just listening without judgment to what is on a person’s heart and mind.
5. Do not waste time with gossip – Talking negatively about other people when they are not present just for the sake of doing so is simply a waste of energy. It is this kind of energy that must be purged from the world in order for change to have room to grow. To be an effective agent of change, replace time spent gossiping with time spent helping others, instead.
6. Meditate – A large part of making the world a better place involves actively seeking ways to help other people. Meditation, however, is an individual practice that helps the one meditating maintain a sense of calm and balance. There are many ways to practice meditation and not every agent of change will engage in the same forms. In whichever way it is performed, meditation helps counteract some of the negative energy that exists in the world, as well as it helps to strengthen agents of change in positive ways.
7. Play – Children fight, argue and sulk just like adults do. The difference, however, is that children also understand the power of imagination and physical exercise. Adults often lose this and the world becomes far too serious when stuck indoors for hours at a time while being burdened with adult responsibilities. Making a commitment to go outside and play can help adults de-stress and not take life too seriously. A change agent must recapture her youthful expression by getting outside just for the sake of being outside and enjoying every moment.
8. Be wrong – No one likes to be wrong…not even change agents. Admitting an incorrect thought, idea or action is a tough thing to do. It is especially hard to let other people assume they are right when all evidence points to them being wrong. In order to become a change agent, however, it’s important to literally practice being wrong, even when you are right. This doesn’t mean you should leave people uninformed of truth, but rather that avoiding unnecessary conflict is more important than being right sometimes. State your opinion, but learn how to let other people win arguments. Emotionally divest of the need to be right.
9. Practice putting yourself second – A change agent does not struggle to be first. Practice patience and humility by allowing others space in line ahead of you, allowing them to express themselves first and allowing others the right of way (even when they’re wrong) in traffic. To change the world, it is necessary to exhibit unorthodox ways of being kind.
10. Address everyone as brother/sister – Becoming an agent of change means seeing the world and everyone in it in a different light. We often refer to the ‘brotherhood of man’, but rarely do we ponder the inter-connectedness of mankind in a major way. Something as small as addressing one another as brother and sister will undoubtedly sound odd. Hopefully, it will sound odd enough to you and to other listeners, however, to trigger the remembrance that we are all a part of the same human family.
11. Forgive – Being offended, having our feelings stepped on and being treated unkindly is a fact of life. A dedicated change agent knows this, but is willing to forgive quickly and move on from an offense just as fast. Doing so calls for an attitude adjustment that spills over onto others, as well. As an agent of change, forgiveness doesn’t mean foolishness, it simply means that you are strong enough to recognize that a mistake has passed and that there is no need to allow it to affect your present.
Becoming a change agent takes time and dedicated practice. Without a doubt you will fall short at times, but change will occur nevertheless. Be patient with yourself and with others as you become comfortable with your role as a change agent, and see how many other change agents you can inspire with your willingness to go the extra mile for all of humanity’s sake.
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