Why You Can Change The World, But Shouldn't

The point isn't that we should never try to change the world.The point is that we shouldn't want to change the world for the sake of feeling significant by getting our name in the history books. Change does not always mean improvement, and we must be careful when we say we want to change the world, and ensure that it's for the right reason.

[MrYFM]

"We care so much about the world, yet it doesn't seem to care so much about us."
That line hit me hard 😯

[Rgrin]

"No one has ever changed the world, by doing what the world has told them to do." - Eddie Zong

[MrOverkillking]

Its ironic that what the video itself changes the world, in a somewhat big way

[dausetvazquez]

So, a more accurate thing to say would be, "Changing the world is not a profession, changing the world is a consequence of being the best human being you could possibly be".

[TOMahawkisawsome]

This is actually the motivation of one of my favorite villians I wrote for a D&D game, he's so desperate to make an impact on the world to have his name burned into history and not die when he dies that he doesn't care what gets him remembered

[Vincentivize]

“Much of the changes that we need now are to offset or reverse the changes that we thought the world needed before.” Brilliantly said... its interesting that our culture obsessed over tech and innovation and touts it as being all about solving problems, yet most of the problems we are solving have been caused by technological innovation... seems like a never ending game that nature doesn’t want to play.

[stpaperdragon]

For a long time now the thought of dying haunted me and still kinda does. I'm not a religious person and an afterlife isn't certain. I figured that if I am to die one day I want to be remembered and not slip thought time like nothing. I wanted to write history in a way. to forge my name within it so it would be impossible to for get forget me...i wanted to impact the world so greatly. But this video made me think. I want to focus on life. i can only live once and when you begin to understand it, living is so much more Beautiful. Every person i met, even if it was for a little while will be changed because of me and hopefully it'll be for the better. things, places, names, and even where a rose will grow will be impacted because of me simply existing.
I love these videos and I pray that these will last for years to come. Thank you.

[michaelstanton]

I really appreciate this. I work in tech, and this "change the world" meme is so overused and rather thoughtless.

[bianpaais]

"It's not about changing the world. It's about doing our best to leave the world... the way it is. It's about respecting the will of others, and believing in your own"

[tertiuscarstens]

Reality made me realise I can't change the world. Some years ago I've also had this dream/desire to change it until I travelled abroad, alone, for the first time. It was exciting but very scary to be alone in a foreign country. And there were so many people living out their lives not knowing who I was or that I even exist. That's when I realised how foolish and futile this dream was. You want to change the world? Start with yourself.

[Fatima-rsbv]

as Iqbal once said, "the world is for you, not you for the world."

[Aeimos]

Steve Jobs didn't really change the world. He just made it more of what it was already becoming...

[Zekor]

What he talks about is an example of an individual who wants to change the world because he wants to make a difference, not necesarry to actually change it to a better direction. He references this multiple times. What these people forget is, their impact is way more important than themselves. It is never about you, but what you represent, and the change you make. That is why one should want to change the world truly, if he wants not to make the impact, but the impact to be made.

[mainaccount]

Bravo! This is one of the few channels that actually delivers based on its name and description!

[exoscalmfan]

This kinda gets some pressure off me and I appreciate it. Thank you for this point of view 🙏

[AImusicandart]

I love this. Says so much of what got me out of promoting politics. At a certain point I hit the limits of what I understood about the world, and the Butterfly Effect taught me consequences are not just immediate and intuitive, but often random and chaotic long term.

Changing the world is less important than living well.

[marcbernat]

We still should roll the dice, at least once in our lives.
Adding our voice to the sometimes discordant symphony sung by our predecessors, peers, and future selves, is integral to humanity’s slow coming of age as a unified people.
Be honest, be you, be bold, take responsibility for your actions.

[milohookfish]

This video is perfection if such a thing ever existed. It goes into why our dreams and values are subjective and constrained to out limited understanding of this vast universe...

[ianslickthompson]

Everybody wants to do something big and make meaningful change. They want to leave some kind of legacy. Do something that impacts a large number of people. Something that says to the world and everyone living in it, "Hey, I exist and it's important that I exist!" They get inspired by people who have done it before and aim to be just as good and effective as them.


However, what I think a lot of people misunderstand is that changing the world - doing good or leaving a legacy - should not be an end goal. You should never do good just for the sake of making yourself look good, and you shouldn't invoke change just for the purpose of saying that you did.


The biggest world changing people and events were actually very rarely intentional or expected and not done by just one person. They came from the result of people doing what they love the best that they can with the help of friends and working everyday to be better. If you really want to improve the world in some way, start here.


Your goal in life should not be to be just like the people who inspire you. Instead your goal should be a person who can inspire others.

[Nick_D_Sanchez]

I appreciate this, it reflects my own thoughts on this so well. I know that I, as a single person cannot, or rather shouldn't have the power to make great change. But I have done so indirectly, through influence and interacting with so many others that I have likely changed the courses of hundreds of lives big and small in ways I won't ever see