It’s easy simply to go through the motions and do your work without giving much thought to the difference you can make.

But what’s the point? Why do something that won’t make an impact, that won’t change anything?

Even a commonplace task you do regularly can be filled with meaning, though, if you fill it with the awareness of possibility and potential transformation or simply authentic, in-the-moment presence.

When I’m on autopilot, which is too often my default state, what I make seems hollow and my interactions with others feel superficial.

But when I actively connect what I’m doing to the potential to make a difference, no matter how small, in someone or something—when I consider my work a gift that has meaning and my interactions opportunities for genuine connection—then I find energy and purpose that otherwise would be missing.

I want to do work that matters. I want to connect with fellow humans in meaningful ways.

Approaching each opportunity for creation and connection as though I’m offering a gift changes everything.

Our minds regularly cycle through the desires of the moment. “What do I want next?”

But, imagine asking instead: “What can I give next?”

“What can I contribute?”

“How can I offer something meaningful?”

This shift—asking what can I give rather than what can I get—upends our programming.

What do you have to give? What can you contribute that would make a difference?

Who are you not to share your gifts with the world?

Don’t worry about how your generosity will be received. Just be bolder and kinder than seems reasonable.

Keep giving and connecting and creating possibilities that didn’t exist until you took action.