Don't be an NPC

"NPC" stands for "Non-Player Character" and was originally used to describe characters in video games who kind of just hover around and follow a rigid, predictable script in their behaviors. In gen-z slang, it's often used as a metaphor to describe someone who is perceived as lacking independent thought or personal agency.

I sometimes walk into my community's gym, and find a bunch of people working out in the dark, with the fans off.

I imagine it goes like this:

The first person walks in and thinks, "dang, the lights and fans are off today" and proceeds with their workout.

Each subsequent person walks in and thinks, "dang, the lights and fans are off today" and proceeds with their workout.

And the gym eventually reaches a critical mass of healthy, smart people, sweating in the dark... all of whom assume that if the lights and fans were working, someone else would have already turned them on.

The thing is, there's a full panel of switches, in plain sight, immediately beside the door as you walk in.

To be fair to the gymgoers, I don't blame them. It's a reasonable assumption to make. If the lights were on yesterday, there's probably a reason they're off today. And if everyone else is working out in the dark, that must be confirmation that this is normal. Who am I to question it?

It's a silly story, but it unveils a deeper truth.

You can impact the world around you.

Maybe you can be the person to turn on the lights & fans. To solve problems for others. To bend the world around you in some tiny (or large) way.

Who am I to question it?

You're the perfect person to question it.

In fact if you do not, it is likely no one will.

So go flick some switches. Experiment. Make things happen.

You can have an impact.