Physical impact is generally bad for you. Its imagery is strong. It implies that you can always recognize impact in the physical world.
Personal impact is much less recognizable. It’s fleeting. Personal impact is mixed up within our everyday lives. With too much incoming information to process, it many times is hard to see. Most times we don’t even feel it when someone has impacted our lives the moment it happens.
There is an aspect of personal impact that is heavily influenced by consistency and repetition. It feels like it needs to be around us over a length of time before we begin to notice it. Positive outcomes need to “pile up” before we connect them to someone who has made a personal impact on them.
The stronger the personal impact, the deeper the engagement someone has had to be described as having impact on a situation.
Where does it come from?
Deep diving into an area of focus. Caring a great deal for others instead of ourselves. Persisting when obstacles appear until a breakthrough occurs. Identifying the trivial things in your life and then releasing them giving you more time to focus on the important. Not settling for the status quo. Blocking out distractions to finish what is needed to be done.
What does it require?
Great patience and humility. Willing something does not mean it will come to life. Most times, it will require work far beyond what the next person is willing to commit to do. You must carry with you the humility to understand that no one may notice or identify your work as ever having impact. The need for humility screams of never putting the goal as being to have personal impact but rather to help, influence and focus on things that matter to you. That’s all and then let the rest happen.
Skill is also needed. Some acquired through either learning or experience. A bit given to each of us by God.
Is personal impact within the reach of each of us? Yes. Beginning first with our families, the children we raise, and the friends we keep.
Others will decide if and when they notice that we have made a personal impact in the outside world. We can never declare it and must be prepared to have never been acknowledged for it.
Our satisfaction needs to come from knowing that we “gave it our best” in all areas of our life that we have identified as being important to us.