There’s a moment. A split second where you decide whether you’re going to do something or let it slide. Whether you’ll step up or stay put. Whether you’ll send the email, ask the question, make the move. These moments are everywhere. And most of the time, we don’t even notice them.
But they add up.
Change isn’t always a revolution. Sometimes it’s a whisper. A slight nudge. A quiet decision to take back control when everything feels like it’s spinning out of it.
Right now, the world feels like a mess. People are NOT ok. Lately sometimes, I don’t feel OK! The United States is fractured. Our friends and family that need us the most are becoming marginalized. Laws and policies are being put in to take away their basic human rights.
Every week, it seems like another massive company is laying off thousands of people. People wake up to emails that upend their entire sense of stability. Jobs gone. Livelihoods erased. Dreams postponed.
In moments like these, I have been reminding myself that it’s easy to feel powerless. It’s easy to believe that nothing we do will matter. That the system is too big. That the forces working against us are too strong. But that’s a lie. And the biggest danger isn’t the system itself. It’s the belief that we don’t have any power at all.
This is in no way a self-help article. I don’t have all the answers and I certainly do not claim to. But I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to have agency in a world that often makes us feel powerless. Maybe there’s something in here that resonates with you. Maybe not. Either way, this is me, exploring the idea out loud.
What It Means to Have Agency
Agency is a fancy word for something simple: the ability to make choices and take action. It’s deciding what matters to you and moving toward it, even when the road is unclear. Even when the odds feel stacked against you.
It’s tough to feel like any of us have agency right now. The news cycle is relentless. The economy is unpredictable. The job market feels impossible. But even in the most uncertain times, you still have control over something. Yourself. Your mindset.
Your next step.
It’s not about ignoring reality. It’s about realizing you still have a say in how you respond to it.
Small Actions, Big Shifts
We tend to think change needs to be huge. Quit your job. Move to another city. Start a business. But real change, the kind that sticks, often starts much smaller. It’s in the daily choices. The tiny, almost invisible shifts that, over time, create a completely different trajectory.
Apply for one job today. Just one. Send an email to someone you admire. Speak up in a meeting instead of shrinking back. Set a boundary. Ask for what you need.
Every time you take a small step, you remind yourself that you’re in the driver’s seat. That you’re not just a bystander in your own life. And momentum builds. Confidence grows. You start to see possibilities where before there were only roadblocks.
This isn’t about building habits. If you were in my orbit in the last few years, you know that I have really taken to James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. No, in this case I am not talking about habit forming. I am talking about intentionality to get out of the starting blocks.
The Illusion of Stability
If the last few years have proven anything, it’s that stability is an illusion. People who did everything "right" went to good schools, worked hard, climbed the ladder, still found themselves laid off overnight. Entire industries shifted under people’s feet.
This isn’t to say planning and hard work don’t matter. They do. But putting all your faith in a system that can change on a dime is dangerous. Real security comes from adaptability. From knowing that no matter what happens, you have the ability to pivot. To create something new. To make a move, even when you don’t have all the answers.
Agentic AI and Human Agency
This is where things get interesting. We talk a lot about AI taking over jobs, replacing creativity, making decisions for us. But the most powerful AI models, the ones being developed right now, aren’t just passive tools. They’re agentic.
Agentic AI doesn’t just wait for instructions. It takes initiative. It learns, adapts, decides. It figures out what needs to be done and does it.
Of course, many people are fearful of AI. That’s okay. It’s natural to feel uneasy about something evolving so quickly. But we can also learn from it. AI’s progression mirrors the kind of critical thinking and adaptability that we, as humans, are capable of. We don’t have to be passive participants in our own lives. Just like AI refines its understanding over time, we too can train ourselves to think critically, act decisively, and continuously evolve.
Sound familiar?
It’s what I’ve been thinking about in my own life. Instead of waiting for direction. Instead of hoping someone else gives me permission. Instead of assuming I’m stuck. What if I acted with the same sense of agency? What if I made decisions, took initiative, learned as I went? What if I stopped waiting for the perfect moment and just started?
You Don’t Need a Grand Plan
No one really knows what they’re doing. Not entirely. Everyone’s making it up as they go. The difference between the people who create change and the people who don’t? The ones who create change, act. They take the first step. They figure it out along the way.
I don’t have a five-year plan. I don’t have a roadmap. I just know that movement is better than stagnation. One small action at a time. And when enough of those small actions pile up, you’ll look back and realize you’ve built something entirely new.
The Power of Choosing
This world is constantly trying to make you feel powerless. The most radical thing you can do is choose.
Choose where you put your attention.
Choose how you spend your time.
Choose how you show up.
It doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.
So today, I’m choosing something. A small action. A moment where I decide to take back a little bit of control. Maybe you will too. Maybe not. But if anything in here resonated with you, I hope it reminds you that you are not powerless. You are not stuck. You are not at the mercy of forces beyond your control.
You are agentic.
So go. Create change. Even in small ways.
Thanks for reading, listening, and sharing. Stay curious. -Greg
Share this post