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I have an eleven month-old daughter, Delaney, who has hit the home-wrecking stage. She is into everything, newly mobile and intensely curious. Over the course of a half hour…let alone an entire day…she leaves a path of destruction around the house. Toys are scattered, cabinets (the safe ones) are emptied, and anything we’ve left within reach is handled and discarded.

It’s been a few years since my other children were in this stage, but even the older ones can leave a trail. At this point we’re working on chores and allowances, trying to develop a sense of responsibility and contribution in each of them. Some weeks are better than others; lately it seems we’re back at square one. This morning when I got up there was stuff everywhere, which is what happens when people continue to make a mess and not clean up after themselves.

A personal mission of mine is to not leave a trail behind me. I try to be disciplined about picking up after myself and not leaving a wake. And often as I move about through the house  I will try to chip away at whatever mess is there. It’s part of my net progress philosophy, that consistent incremental progress adds up…eventually cleaning up my own mess plus a little bit of others’ will eventually get rid of the mess. Of course, with Hurricane Delaney in the house there is always a mess to clean up.

I think what applies in our household also applies in the world. If everyone could avoid leaving a wake, and perhaps even chip away at the mess by cleaning a little more than their mess, the world would be in a great place. Too often people lose sight of their impact and leave a mess for someone else, and the cumulative impact is substantial. The trick is to subtly flip the equation and have that cumulative impact be positive. And even if we can’t change others’ behavior, we can have an impact by changing our own. And that’s why I keep chipping away and remaining hopeful. Maybe someday our house…let alone the world…will become a “no wake zone”.