This time of year many people start to think about making changes in their life. Perhaps lose a little weight. Or quit smoking. The start of a new year seems the ideal time to begin. Sadly, most New Years resolutions run out of steam and are abandoned with weeks. Admittedly, changing yourself is hard work. Without a sufficient motivation it’s hard to follow it through to completion. Although changing yourself should be its own reward, normally it isn’t enough to keep us going long enough to reach our goals.

I want to suggest a new approach this year – that changing yourself really works better as a side issue. In other words, you need a bigger reason for losing weight than just feeling better about yourself. You need a greater cause to quit smoking, or start saving money, than just looking after yourself. The best way to change yourself is to change the world first. Chances are if you set out to change the world, you will, by necessity, have to make changes in your own life in order to succeed. But in the process you will have achieved something much greater.

So my challenge to you this year is to step out and change your world! Instead of focussing on yourself, take a look around and ask yourself, “What could I do to make the world a better place?” You might answer that question in very large ways or in very small. You might see lots of ways or you might see only one primary way to change your world. You might recognize the need for change nearby, in the next city, or on the other side of the world! Whatever you decide to do, you can be sure that the larger the difference you seek to make – the larger the effort, the sacrifice, and the more self-improvement it will require.

It’s your world. Yours to change in large ways and in small. Say it out loud: “This year I will change my world.”