Are You Creating a Positive Ripple Effect? - Risa Kawamoto (2024)

When people feel unfulfilled with their lives, many people fill their emptiness by consuming.

Consuming more alcohol, more unhealthy food, more unnecessary clothes or gadgets, more holidays (escapism), more scrolling down social media…

We do all of these at an expense of our own physical and mental health, relationship with others and the planet we live in.

I have to admit, I used to consume all these things when I was feeling unfulfilled with my job, romantic relationship and…life!

But all of these things that gave me instant pleasure only lasted for a short period of time.

Instead, I had less money because I was spending too much and my health – both physical and mental – was suffering, and the relationship got even more toxic as I was either angry or depressed, I had no capacity to be kind and give.

I didn’t realise I was creating a negative ripple effect that was impacting my health, relationships and the planet until I started studying Yogic wisdom and Vedic philosophy.

But what if instead of creating a negative ripple effect on our health, relationships and the planet by consuming these things, we can create a positive ripple effect in everything we do in our life?

I decided that this was a change I needed to make. So how do we do this?

Creating a positive ripple effect

Try starting with a short 5 minute meditation in the morning that can help you feel calmer and more grounded during the day.

As a result, you may be able to keep calm and patient with a customer you are dealing with at work, or smile and say ‘hi!’ and ‘thank you’ to a person working at a train station on your way back home.

Or this could be choosing to buy second hand clothes from a local charity shop.

Your friend compliments your new top and asks you where you got it from. When they find out that you got it from a charity shop, they may feel inspired to shop in a charity shop as well. That’s one less person buying new clothes from possibly unethical, non-environmental friendly brands.

You can also create a positive ripple effect by using your gifts and strengths in an area you are passionate about.

This could be in your job as an employee or through your own business that creates a positive impact on other people’s lives or the planet.

Also it can be through your own passion or side project, or through volunteering.

Hopefully you can now see that one action can create a positive ripple effect in your life, other people’s lives and the planet!

Cause and Effect – Karma

Vedic philosophy teaches us that our actions – karma, are the result of a ripple effect of the previous actions.

It teaches us that everything we do sets in motion various forces that have certain consequences and results that can either be beneficial or harmful, or positive or negative or even a mix of both.

So how can you make sure that your current actions create a positive effect?

In my previous blog post, I shared how you can live more intentionally and the importance of getting clear on your core values.

Core values are your personal ethics or ideals that guide you when making decisions in your life.

You may not be able to change your past actions but your current actions in present life can change direction by making decisions based on your core values and being more intentional with your actions.

So next time you do something, take a moment to step back, observe and ask yourself.

What positive ripple effect do I want to create with my action I’m taking right now?

What positive ripple effect will this action create in my health, my work, relationship, other people and the planet?

It doesn’t have to be big. Start small and go from there!