It’s The Small Moments That Matter
Sometimes we have the greatest impact when we least expect it
Just over two years ago I was dancing around on a stage in a century old building with two friends of mine. It was the beginning of the election season for student leadership positions at our university and I was running as a candidate.
Leading up to the campaign, my team and I had many heated debates about platform points, web and print design, marketing tactics, and more. One of the most contentious arguments was in regards to us performing a flash mob at the main intersection of campus. We were hesitant to include an unoriginal campaigning effort, but in the end we decided to go with it.
So, myself and two others choreographed a dance to “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5. Our plan was to perform the flash mob on the Thursday morning of that week.
On the Wednesday night, I happened to be in the campus print shop printing off some posters when I was approached by a curious staff member. She asked me what I was printing and after awkwardly describing why I had a 4x6 poster of my face — she laughed and I explained what it was for. The interaction was brief and she joked that she would maybe consider voting for me.
The next morning we set up our deafeningly loud PA system and approximately thirty-five of us anxiously stood on the busiest intersection on campus. We hit the play button and instantly woke the campus up with the melodious Maroon 5 tune and our esteemed dance moves. It was a freaking blast.
Our flash mob began just as classes ended and thousands of students were filling the streets. But we had no idea what kind of impact our flash mob might have on others.
Later that evening, I was on my way to an all candidates debate when a girl popped out of a crowd and yelled my name.
“Nick!! Thank you so much for your flash mob today!!!” I realized quickly that it was the girl from the print shop that I had met the previous night. “Oh, yeah no problem! It was fun, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“No no, but I really want to say thank you! It made my week.”
“Ok... Well, I’m super glad that it —”
“I don’t think you understand how significant it was for me... I had been stressed all week about this stupid midterm that I wrote this morning. I thought for sure that I was going to bomb it... And I totally did! I was crushed as I walked out of the building, opened my bag and noticed that my water bottle exploded and spilled all over the computer causing it to break. In this moment, I just wanted to cry. Then I turned the corner and saw your flash mob and I actually began to sob uncontrollably.”
I interjected quickly — “Oh my god, I am so sorry!”
“No Nick, I wasn’t crying because I was sad, I had tears of joy! Seeing all of you on that street corner smiling and having fun made me forget all about my midterm and computer. I can’t explain to you how powerful that moment was for me, it changed my day — in fact, it changed my week. So, thank you so much for doing that today.”
I talked to her for a short time after her story and thanked her for sharing it with me. Upon reflection, I realized something of paramount importance that day — it’s the small unexpected things we do that can have the most profound impacts on others.
This very lesson has been reiterated to me many times since that day through different events in my life and in the lives of others. In retrospect, the flash mob was a brilliant idea. Even though we had questioned its value at times, the unexpected had occurred and someone’s life was positively affected. None of us are fully aware of the impact we may have had on other individuals that day. But we remain acutely aware of how some of what we perceive to be insignificant can possibly be life-changing for others.
The small things do matter and you won’t know how much they matter unless you do them. Even then, you still may never know how you’ve affected someone’s life.
