Making an Impact

At some point, we all wonder if we’re making a difference in the world, at the very least, if we’ve left a memorable impression on someone close to us. If we’re being ambitious, the ethical goal of a human life is to make a personally meaningful contribution to the world. Not necessarily world-historical, name-in-textbooks-level impact, but the kind that, at the very least, means you won’t lie awake at 3 a.m. asking, Did I do anything that mattered?

This purposive activity can be divided into two sides: effective cultivation of potential and then making a meaningful impact on the world. Self-actualization entails developing physical, intellectual, and attentive capacities without forcing a one-size-fits-all definition of success. Contributing to the world could be either through making systems more effective, just and/or more intentional. For example, justice requires respecting others as ends in themselves and doing one’s part to rectify the absurdly broken institutions we encounter daily.

Here, I’m not suggesting a checklist for us to become saints or power brokers. It’s just a more grounded way to think about impact as a function of engagement, not external validation. It’s something closer to Aristotle than LinkedIn.

Effective Cultivation of Potential

Not all of us will run marathons or publish groundbreaking treatises. Some people peak in calculus, others in karaoke. But broadly speaking, we can think about human potential in three categories: physical, intellectual, and attentive capacities although there may be more. Physical abilities include strength, endurance, and coordination. This isn’t just for Olympic athletes but for, say, carrying all your grocery bags on one trip (an actual test of modern fitness and defiance of physics). Intellectual capacities include problem-solving, creativity, and knowledge. It is helpful for everything from astrophysics to knowing the exact moment to throw in a witty reference at a dinner party. Attentive capacities include emotional intelligence, presence, and depth of focus. These are critical skill in relationships, philosophy, and pretending to listen in Zoom meetings.

Of course, what constitutes talent and opportunity is profoundly shaped by the constraints of history and social context. Access to education, economic conditions, race, gender, and systemic biases all inform what options are realistically available to individuals. Yet, acknowledging structural constraints does not mean we have surrender to them. Even within limits, people find ways to cultivate their abilities. It can be done sometimes in defiance of circumstances, sometimes by reshaping the constraints that seem immovable.

A person’s impact is best-measured relative to their own abilities rather than against an abstract, universal standard. The CEO, the community organizer, the artist, and the teacher each contribute meaningfully when they’re working in alignment with what they can develop.

Freedom and Responsibility

Here’s the tricky part: You can throw away your talents, but you may regret it later. The existential burden of responsibility is real. People are both architects of their choices and products of their environments.

We can choose not to cultivate our strengths, but we don’t get to avoid the consequences. If someone with a brilliant mind spends their life watching reality TV marathons (no judgment, unless it’s a third rewatch of something dreadful), they might, in their final moments, wish they had tried a little more.

We’re not obligated to thrive, but it’s an opportunity we either seize or squander. Nobody is keeping score. Yet, as Carl Rogers emphasized, there is a certain ugh; I could’ve done more that tends to creep in when potential is wasted.

Contributing to the World

Let’s be honest. The world is an ongoing experiment in what happens when institutions forget they’re supposed to serve people. Making an impact includes both personal development and recognizing that our actions shape the world around us. We can make processes more efficient, help institutions become more just and bring more intentionality into the human experience. The beauty is that we can do this just about everywhere in any neighborhood or place of employment.

One of the main ways that influential people in history have made our lives more efficient is through entrepreneurial values. These people looked at unfulfilled basic needs and figured out better ways to meet them through ingenuity. For example, the industrialization of food has meant that more people have access to nutritious diets around the world. There are many problems, of course, with the impact of industrialization but they nevertheless have at least solved one aspect of the puzzle. Hence, making an impact can look like introducing a new good or service to the market. And this can even be done within companies without having to start your own by pitching ideas you believe in. It also isn’t restricted to capitalist structures but can be done in community oriented ways like organizing a singles meetup that helps people find love or a book swap to help people find new authors they’ll enjoy.

And as we engage in such endeavors, it’s worth asking: Did I treat people as ends, not means? Did I use my position, however small, to make systems a little less ridiculous? Did I recognize that justice is more than an abstract moral ideal and somehow worked ot realize a practical consideration of fairness, dignity, and reciprocity? No one is asking you to single-handedly reform society (though if you can, please do). But small acts like pushing for ethical decisions at work, standing up when something’s wrong, advocating for those with less power add up to a meaningful social transformation.

If effective action is the muscle, reflection is the central nervous system. Without it, we risk mindless productivity masquerading as impact. So, another important question in assessing a life well-lived is: Did I actually understand what I was doing, or was I just moving? Did I cultivate a sense of perspective on myself, on others, and on the world? Did I own my choices, or did I just drift? Was I true to myself, and did I critically examine my values?

This brings us to the next context of impact which is contributing to the intentionality of not just onesself but the broader community. This form of contribution is raising the consciousness of entire groups of people through ones work. This is the vocation of the therapists, healers, parents, artists, documentary filmmakers, teachers and historians. It’s existential work without which we have no sense of development or narrative. The Stoics would say that wisdom comes from constant refinement, and while none of us are Seneca (which is probably for the best, given how his life ended), we can at least aim for something more thoughtful than autopilot.

Case Study: Octavia Butler and the Power of Reachable Impact

Octavia Butler is an exemplar of the kind of meaningful, sustainable impact that this framework envisions. A groundbreaking writer who reshaped science fiction, Butler cultivated her unique capacities, engaged with social justice, and lived a life of profound contemplative growth while maintaining a life within her bounds rather than exceeding them in self-sacrifice.

Born into a working-class Black family, Butler overcame systemic barriers that might have discouraged others from attempting to enter the literary world. She was dyslexic, an outsider in both race and gender within science fiction, and introverted in a field that often prized public intellectualism. Yet, rather than being crushed by these realities, she worked within them, slowly but persistently honing her craft.

Her contribution to literature and social thought was monumental. She wrote sincerely, authentically, and with immense foresight. Beyond telling stories, she challenged power structures, interrogated human nature, and envisioned radical futures that blended speculative possibility with psychological and societal realism. Works like Parable of the Sower and Kindred reflect her ability to fuse storytelling with philosophical and ethical insight, making the unreal feel uncomfortably close to reality.

Importantly, Butler worked in a sustainable way. She was dedicated but did not sacrifice herself at the altar of overexertion or notoriety. She found fulfillment in writing, resisted the pressure to commercialize beyond what felt authentic to her, and embraced a slow-burning impact rather than a fleeting, high-profile influence. Her impact was grounded in her capacities and commitments, making her an example of what it means to flourish through alignment.

Conclusion

Making an impact can happen on small to large scale but it’s more important that the path lands as authentic. It’s about engaging deeply with your capacities, respecting limits, and thinking critically about your place in the world. The success metric is ultimately whether you left something better than you found it. So, whatever your strengths are, use them. Not because you have to. But because you might just be glad you did at the end of it all.

Further Reading

1. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
2. The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
3. How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen
4. Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being by Martin Seligman