Tag, You're It!

We are all “influencers.”

Whether we have lassoed in thousands of strangers, or have established a small practice, or are navigating the field of home, or are cultivating solitude, our words and actions have impact, often beyond our knowing. The quiet and the loud influence the shape of the moment and beyond.

Others complete our messages and gestures. They sometimes understand words differently than they were meant. They may take them literally or metaphorically. They interpret according to their experience – and we, of course, deliver according to ours.

The wider our reach, the scarier it may feel. As we become more visible, perhaps we catch ourselves thinking that our thinking is objective, that we are right. The assumption helps protect us from the fear that arises with greater influence.

As a parent, we’re under the illusion, albeit fleeting, that we can control the influence we have on our children. We may have this sense when we think of our clients and students, too. It will be okay, they’ll be fine, and we’ll be fine.

But what of those who live beyond our sight? They see us, some version of us, but we can’t see them. What are they doing with our precious influence? Obeying us, or mocking us, getting drunk on the ideas, excusing terrible offences, drowning in guilt, bypassing change? The bigger the circle, the less we can tell.

Still, we are all “influencers.” No matter the intent, content, or reach, we change the shape of life through our being – a nip, a tuck, a severance, a stitch, a tweak, an embrace, an erasure.

As influencers, then, we must ask ourselves: do we move in the world with integrity? That’s what we get to do. Derived from the Latin word integer (meaning whole), are we consistently aligned so that others know where we stand, even when we’re afraid? Can we put aside our chameleon ways, the navigational tool of children, and find safety not in hiding but in being visible?

While we cannot control the impact of our influence, we can do our best to keep checking the ingredients.