Trying to Lead Change? Here’s One Good Way to Sustain Yourself
Dusan Veverkolog via Unsplash
Working on any of the great issues of our day is not for the faint of heart. Today’s social, environmental, and humanitarian problems are serious, urgent, and complex. And just a glance at the news makes it seem like problems are multiplying like a runaway virus.
This makes it essential that mission-driven leaders—or anyone trying to make their part of the world a little bit better—practice strategies to sustain themselves so they don’t burn out, succumb to overwhelm, or lose hope.
Here is one good way to do this:
Recognize that you are in good company.
Much better and bigger company than you may know.
Let me explain: While we face many unprecedented challenges today, there is also an overlay of negativity that is a natural consequence of technology and our 24/7 global media. When something goes wrong anywhere in the world, we hear about it instantly.
That is not the way it always was, and it’s not the way we’re wired to process information. Our brains, which evolve more slowly than the state of the world, still work best in the context of something more akin to an agrarian society, not an interconnected global one. This leaves us bombarded with bad news we don’t know how to respond to.
Put another way: We are swimming in a sea of perception that slants toward the negative. So, if we want to navigate these seas more effectively, we need to balance these conditions with a slant toward the positive.
That’s where recognizing you are in good company comes in.
Here are a few indicators:
The U.N. estimated last year that 862 million people — or 15 percent of the global population — volunteer annually.
In the United States, nearly 51 percent of people 16 and older informally helped others during the height of the pandemic, and more than 23 percent formally volunteered through an organization.
In 2022, Americans gave nearly $500 billion to charity.
There are more than 1.5 million registered nonprofits in the United States alone, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics.
And the number of for-profit organizations addressing environmental, social, or humanitarian issues have grown significantly. Patagonia, of course, is the poster child for this, with its estimated $100 million a year in profits now earmarked to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the globe. But there are countless others—and ever more consumers, stockholders, and employees expecting businesses to take on this responsibility.
Some years ago, I traveled to Colorado to attend a conference about climate change at the Aspen Institute. As a new mom, I’d become alarmed by the issue and was throwing myself into learning everything I could in the hope I could find a way I could contribute.
What I never expected from all my reading about the crisis was what I discovered there: So many good and brilliant people working on climate solutions. They were people from all walks of life — from the U.S. military to science, from academia to healthcare, from philanthropy to corporate America.
When I left the conference, I wanted to tell everyone I met who was discouraged about the state of the world just how many changemakers were dedicating their lives to problem-solving.
Now, I realize it’s worth reminding changemakers and mission-driven leaders of that, too. You are in good company. Perhaps much better and bigger company than you know—not unlike the small but mighty ant: more plentiful than all and vital to the health of earth itself.