Not too long ago, I found myself pondering something that I hadn’t really thought about before. You know what it was?
Ripples.
Like when you put your finger in a pool of water, and it creates a chain reaction. It starts with one tiny circle that cascades into a larger circle, and then, before you know it—there are a series of circles rippling through the water.
TBH—I don’t know that I ever watched to see how far those ripples actually go when you put your finger into the water—but I might now.
The truth is, I’m not sitting around thinking about water.
I’m pondering how one tiny action in any given moment can change the whole rest of your life or at least a significant part of it. Those moments that turn your day around – set you on a different path, or maybe remind you of your purpose in the world.
AND how those random, unplanned, unexpected moments often lead to much bigger moments.
Ripples
Not so long ago, an email landed in my inbox from a lawyer who had taken my Co-Parenting Specialist ™ Training Program. As I’ve mentioned before, this program is more than a training—it’s a movement designed to change how families are supported when parents decide to divorce.
In her email, this graduate shared how the Co-Parenting Specialist training had impacted her work with parents and helped her achieve a much better outcome for a highly complicated court case involving a set of struggling co-parents and lots of intense emotions.
Because of what she learned, she was able to educate the other lawyers involved about the needs of children when parents part while successfully guiding these co-parents to take a step back from the conflict and craft a better solution for their young child.
To say it touched my heart is a massive understatement. It’s always such a gift when, out of the blue, someone reminds you that something you said or did has made a difference.
The funny thing is, when I thought about it, my journey to create this course wasn’t by design. It was the result of another ripple.
It all started with me meeting a woman named Susan Guthrie, who heard me speak at a conference and liked what I had to say—a conference I almost turned down.
The conference planner approached me about being a speaker because she remembered meeting me at another event several years ago and buying a copy of my book, Parenting Apart—a book she liked so much that she started giving it to all her mediation clients.
Now, I don’t know this to be true, but I like to imagine her sitting at her desk mulling over who she could approach to speak at her conference. She glances over and quite accidentally sees my book, thinking to herself…”I wonder if that lady might be an option?”
More ripples.
The Ripples You Don’t See
The email from our program graduate also had me reflecting on all the tiny happenstance moments in my life that have led me to much bigger ones. And then—I considered all the ripples I might have created in other people’s lives and never known about.
And that’s just it, isn’t it?
When we look at our day-to-day lives, do any of us really know what kind of impact we’ve made?
How often have you considered all the ripples that have occurred in your life due to a chance meeting or decision you made? Or all the ripples you have created for others?
The thing I’m really contemplating is this—What would happen if, instead of leaving things solely to chance, we put some intention behind those tiny overlooked moments? How would it impact your life, your work with co-parents, or the lives of their children?
Become Part of the Movement
BTW—if you’re a professional interested in creating some ripples of your own, we offer our Co-Parenting Specialist™ Training Program several times a year. You can find out when our next cohort starts here.
If you’re a parent who has found this and had a bad experience with the system or wonders if things will ever change, I encourage you to take a peek at our website – particularly the Meet Our Grads and Find A Professional pages.
Change is in the air, and our trailblazing graduates (like the one who emailed me) are reasons to have a lot of hope!
Your Take-Action Challenge
So here’s my take-action challenge for you:
Whether you’re a professional or a co-parent, when you have a quiet moment, I’d like to encourage you to reflect on the ripples in your life. What tiny moments have impacted you in a big way, and how can you keep those ripples going?
AND how can you have a positive impact on others?
Remember, the smallest decisions or tiniest moments can create a ripple of change in ways you might never imagine.
Here’s to creating ripples that count.
x, Christina