The Ripple Effect Explanation

When a pebble is dropped in calm water, ripples are produced in every direction. If nothing else interferes, the range of the ripples will increase, even though the effect of the pebble diminishes as they go.

one drop ripple

If a second pebble is dropped, it changes the ripples from the first pebble, amplifying in some areas, reducing in others. This is a metaphor for life- The Ripple Effect Explanation 

The Ripple Effect
The Ripple Effect

The pebbles represent the decisions we make. As time passes, the scope of their influence increases. Early decisions affect later decisions, some amplifying us, and some reducing us,

but both change us.

The point is this: the hundreds of decisions I made when I was in high school, the thousands of decisions I made in college, and the bazillion decisions I have made since then, have all had a Ripple Effect on where I am now, and the changes I’ve experienced.


That’s a pretty scary word for most of us.

Sometimes it intimidates me, too, but then I remember I am the sum total of all the changes that have come before… and I appreciate most of what’s been produced so far. Hey, what I don’t like, I can change.

If we don’t change by design, we change by atrophy.
Either way, we change.

So, I invite you to take charge of yourself, and change with intention.

What would you like your next Ripple to affect?

    The world?        Your country?        Your state?        Your town?        Your home?         Your people skills?      Your fitness level?      Your habits?      How you have fun?      Your skill set?    Your mindset?    Your intellect?    Your techie-lect?    Your nutrition?

Warning: Don’t even bother trying to change your family or relatives!

Or your cat.

 rebuilt white kitty

Whatever you want to change (except the aforementioned) can be approached the same way. Start with a small increment and build on that. That bears repeating:


There was an old commercial that began with a couple of snowflakes. “Yeah, they look innocent enough…” and then it cut to a blizzard, “but wait until they gang up on you!”

snowflakekids in snow

The individual flake has no effect, but combine them, and their impact is a product of The Ripple Effect- just an example of how small things affect you and your world.

Here is another example: Buying Organic Food- It is:

  • good for you
  • good for your family
  • good for the environment.

                                        BUT IT’S EXPENSIVE!

So, make a small change. Only spend $10 of your grocery bill on Organic Produce. Every time you buy something, you are casting a vote for what you want the store to provide.

If 100 customers bought $10 worth of Organic Produce, the demand for Organic Produce would jump to $1000 a week. Your Ripple, combined with the Ripples of other shoppers who you may have never met, create a very real impact on the purchasing practices of the grocery store. That’s buying power.

Start small and build up. The decisions you make today will be part of the sum total of who you will be tomorrow.

Now, go get someone to Ripple with you.

Experience The Ripple Effect for yourself. Pass on any worthwhile ideas you come across in my Awesome Blog. You tell someone; then they’ll tell someone; then they’ll tell someone…

What are some ideas you can share about positive ways you can cause Ripples? Please share below.

Let The Rippling Begin!

I’m just saying…

This blog was originally published on my Merry Meddling Blog: 

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