As I was setting up a writing page on Facebook, I came upon a "Create Call to Action" button. I liked the sound of those words and immediately I knew these were words that were going to develop their own definition within my world. Wikipedia defines the phrase as "An instruction to the audience to provoke an immediate response."
I was knee deep in the mire of a particularly "sensitive" week when I found this phrase that spoke to me. I started to think of all the things that had evoked a strong emotional response within me and started calling them my "call to action” moments.”
When a passing comment stirred up a sense of guilt my "call to action" was to look at why these words struck such a deep chord within me. My world stopped spinning and all I could do was focus on my end of what went wrong within that particular incident so I don't repeat my actions. Did I feel unreasonably squirmy? Yes, I did. It was a minor non-event in the whole scheme of things, but it made me look very hard at how my actions impact others. Duly noted.
My next "call to action" moment was when I happened to wonder how my words could be taken if something I said about someone was repeated to the person I was speaking of. Have I ever taken words that were spoken to me in confidence and repeated them? Ouch! I hate to say it, but yes I have. I squirmed long and hard over that one. I berated myself and was grateful it was only my conscious speaking to me, not a person whose confidence I had betrayed.
Then there are the little, subtle "call to action" moments that come with a delightful surprise ending. I was reading through potential column-worthy writing and I came upon an article I wrote last year. It was a personal piece, but when I read the words a year later, it felt like a powerful collection of words. Before I could talk myself out of it, I picked up the phone and spoke to the person I had written about, to ask their permission to publish the piece. The moment they heard my voice, I was told "I just finished addressing a Christmas card with your name on it!" The most heart warming part of all, was the title of the words in question , "The missing Christmas card.”
I remember very few birthdays, but I have one friend in particular whose birthday always speaks to me. Dec. 4 was yet another "call to action" moment. Even though we haven't talked in years, I sent her an early morning birthday message. That message led to a phone call and that phone call led to a tentative "Let's do this again next week" phone date.
"Call to action” moments can come in any variety. The key is recognizing your immediate response. Before you have a chance to talk yourself down off that wall of guilt, recognize it, take action, endeavour to do better next time.
If someone is on your mind, let that be your "call to action" moment. In this day and age of texting, emailing, long distance phone plans and even via the old fashioned route of "snail mail" stop what you are doing and act on your impulse. Even if years have elapsed since your last contact, don't give up. I can't begin to tell you the number of friendships I've renewed because one or the other of us just kept showing up.
Listen for the "call to action" moments within your day today. I must follow my own advice, because I have had a few too many "calls" to contend with lately and I can feel the weight of inactivity sitting heavy on my shoulders.
