They ARE the Mission
I witnessed something as I walked out of a client meeting yesterday. I exited my client's office and began scurrying to a nearby coffee shop where I would urgently knock out a client project before my next meeting. However, I witnessed something that stopped me in my tracks. I saw a young man rummaging through a dumpster behind a building. It took about ten seconds to compute, but it appeared this person was looking for food. I reached into my pocket to see if I had any cash; I found a $20 bill! In an instant, I decided I should give this man my cash. Then, however, something else kicked in. I thought about how little time I had to finish my project before my next meeting would start, and decided to hurriedly proceed to my next destination instead of engaging with this man.
Then, about a half-block later, I realized the error of my ways. Crap, crap, crap! What was I doing?!?! My gut said that stopping to engage with this man would be a distraction from my mission. What a toxic and terrible thing to think. Rather, engaging with that man was THE mission. If I wake up each day with the intent of moving the needle and serving people around me, this man wasn't a distraction. He needed to be THE priority in this moment.
Knowing which direction he was walking, I decided to find him. I darted in the desired direction, hoping to spot him in the distance. I covered maybe eight blocks while looking, coming up empty-handed. As I was about to concede defeat, I spotted him in the distance. With a sense of urgency and determination, I hurried toward in his direction before losing him again. Once there, I offered him the $20 bill, and we had a brief chat. To say he was grateful would be a gross understatement. He was beyond excited.
We so often get in our own way. Even with the best intentions, we get distracted and overwhelmed by what's on our plate. We desire to help people, but when an opportunity to help presents itself, we turn it down so we can be available to help someone. Ironic, isn't it?
I almost blew it yesterday. It wouldn't have been the first time, unfortunately. I'm so grateful I had a second chance to do the right thing. I'm not always that lucky.
Whatever you do today, please don't miss the little opportunities to make a difference. They aren't distractions from the mission.....they ARE the mission.
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