5 Tips – Working for your cause without burning yourself out
Photo by @samuel boateng, Nordic Diversity Trainers OY founders Susheela Daniel and Christian Thibault
Working for a cause that is close to your heart is not always easy.
Whether it be activism, volunteering, campaigning or through your job, you may give it your all but still, you feel like no or very little progress is being made. We often hear of passionate change makers who finally run out of energy and disappear from the scene. The thing is that we often get so passionate about what we are fighting for, that we forget about taking care of ourselves completely, we even end up neglecting our own peace of mind.
You want to see changes in the world happen, but they aren’t happening fast enough, your energy on the other hand is burning out faster than you thought. You may even become bitter. You end up getting frustrated with people who don’t see the importance of what you care about. You try and you try, but eventually after some months or years, you feel exhausted, you are out of energy and you find yourself thinking something along the lines of “how long am I supposed to keep doing this, are people really going to ever change, does what I do truly have an impact?” To avoid this from happening and to truly be able to work for a better world while feeling good, below are 5 tips to work for the cause that you burn for without burning out yourself.
1. Accept that change takes time
Photo by: Yogendra Singh
Working for real sustainable change on whatever issue it may be - social justice, animal rights, the environment, human rights etc. takes time. In an era where people’s attention spans are extremely short, where we want everything to happen instantly, long lasting change is hard to achieve.
However, if we look back at the history of humankind worldwide, we can see that resistance and campaigns for freedom and justice, have often been going on for decades and sometimes even centuries, and it may only be the great great great grandchildren of those who started the work who might live to witness this change and reap the benefits of it. The saying “someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree long time ago” is a perfect example of just this.
So instead of getting frustrated that you aren’t seeing results and things are not happening fast enough, accept that long-lasting and sustainable change truly does takes time. Be prepared that it might take years and years for your dream to come true, but believe in yourself and your vision and visualise a better tomorrow, one day it will come, just don’t expect things to happen fast.
Also, it is important that you accept the fact that alone you can't change the world but you can change the world for someone. You can inspire more people than you think with your dedication and actions. So don't feel overwhelmed because you can't do it all by yourself, rather feel empowered about all that you can do.
This way you can avoid being disappointed and losing hope. Focus on a having a long-term view on things, rather than short-term. When your outlook changes, you will feel different about not seeing results. You begin to enjoy the process, not only waiting for the outcome. Also try to think of yourself as part of a bigger picture, as someone who’s contribution may be small in the bigger picture but nevertheless very significant and valuable. When you change the way you think about things, the way you feel about them changes too.
2. Find the right way for you to participate
Sometimes you might feel like you are out of energy not because you don’t have energy for the cause but rather because you aren’t expressing your energy in the right way, you haven’t found your particular path to make a difference. So, before you decide to give up completely, see if there are other options for you. You might be good at writing but not speaking, you might be better at working behind the scenes than in the spotlight, you might be good at design but not at managing expenses, etc. Find your strength and passion and go for it.
There is no one and only right way to fight for a cause. You need to find the way in which you feel comfortable, a way where you can use your strengths and skills. Not everyone needs to be keyboard warriors or online influencers. Yes, online activism can make a huge impact, but there are other ways to make a difference too. Don’t allow social pressure to push or convince you that you need to do what everyone else are doing. Being comfortable doesn’t mean stay in your comfort zone, but rather try and experiment, that’s the only way you will know, what you feel that works for you. So don’t be afraid to find new ways in which you can work for the cause you burn for.
To remain committed and consistent with dedication and to feel good about it, you need to be inspired and feel motivated. It may not always be what you are doing but sometimes it is the leadership which is off, sometimes it is the organization or group and their approach which doesn’t resonate with you. Whatever it is, try your best and give it your all and if it is still not working, maybe find a group or organization that works better for you, find another way to participate or even do things individually, you don’t need to be part of anything if you don’t want to.
3. Set your boundaries
It is too easy to get lost in your cause, working 24/7 for a better world. You might feel like there is no time to waste and that you should be available to everything and everyone at all times, else you feel guilty. You might find it very hard to say no. Living like this, without boundaries, is probably the fastest way to burn yourself out badly. In the end you can’t make a difference because you are not even capable to take care of yourself properly.
Photo by: Hush Naidoo Jade Photography
Being a helpful, committed or passionate person, people will want your help, advice and work whenever they need it. But you need to be very clear about how much you can handle, what is your capacity, how much time and energy can you devote to all of this. If you are not clear about this, it will be very hard to set boundaries. You should have not only time to eat and sleep and manage your own personal and career wise responsibilities, you should also have time to take care of yourself, mentally and physically. Bearing all of this in mind, have clear rules for yourself as to how much work you can take upon yourself and still remain sane. How much can you handle before it gets so much that you start to feel overwhelmed and exhausted? For example, you can plan time slots as to when you are not available for messages and calls. Also practise to say no gracefully. There is no need to be rude about declining something but whenever you agree to something, whenever you say yes to something, you are automatically saying no to something else, whether you are conscious about it or not. Keep this in mind. Know your capacity and don’t take upon too much work or responsibility.
4. Balance your work with self-care
Photo by: @timswaanphotography
To have energy to do all the important meaningful work that you do in the world, you need to regularly recharge your own batteries. Like mentioned, eating and sleeping is not enough. You need to take time out consistently, ideally on a daily basis for self-care. Self-care is something that you do that once you have done it, you feel better. This can take many forms and you do what feels right for you. But without caring about your mental and phsycial health and wellbeing, it is impossible to work towards change and live out your potential in a long-term sustainable way. It might work short-term, but eventually neglecting yourself will catch up with you. Hence ideally have a daily routine that you follow which can include some form of exercise, breath work, meditation or mindfulness, book reading, painting or something calming that you enjoy doing, spending time with family or friends, being social, being by yourself in silence, eating healthy and drinking enough water.
Take the time to draw up a plan on what you need to do in order to feel energized and balanced and be sure to include things that you enjoy doing. Also be clear about your priorities first, what and who matters to you and are you giving them enough attention and time. We sometimes get so sucked into our cause that we forget to focus on other things in our life. Work hard for your cause but remember to work equally hard on yourself, only then can you succeed long-term.
Also, it is totally okay to take breaks from everything. To shut of completely, recharge and come back stronger. Don't feel guilty about it. No matter how good routines and self-care practices you have in place, sometimes you need a complete break from everything. Allow yourself that time.
5. Do everything you do with love
Whatever cause you are working for, there is some kind of wrong or injustice happening, that you want to erase, get rid of. It can be challenging or hard to not feel anger towards whatever is causing that injustice. You can let your own outrage and anger fuel you to take action but when you allow it to occupy your mind, to constantly be present in the form of irritation, blame, judgement, accusations, hatred, it is not healthy for you and it won’t bring out the very best outcome for you internally or for your cause.
Rather than focusing on being against something and fighting it, focus on what you stand for, what you support and what kind of a change you want to create. Be very conscious and clear about what your intentions are. If you want to see goodness in the world, be good and think good. Sometimes we let our own trauma and inner unresolved emotions mix up with our cause, and we use the injustice as an excuse and place to let out our anger. Yes, the injustice we are fighting against is very real and so many wrong things are taking place, so much harm and oppression is happening. But when you use that same energy of negativity to create a better world, it won’t work long-term. It is easy to shout and tell the world to change, but it requires a lot more effort to change yourself. If you want to see a peaceful world, be peaceful and think peace. This does not mean be passive and don’t take action, it means take action but with clear intentions filled with love and understanding towards others and the world. Try this and you might just see some positive changes internally as well as externally.
Do what you do with love and gratitude, be grateful because you are in the position to make a difference, it's a blessing to be in that position, no matter how small you think your contribution is, it still matters.
Follow these 5 tips and be sure to witness a change in your energy, attitude and relationship towards your work for a better world. Start with just one step and take it from there. Create a life where you are doing important work while caring for yourself. This will give you the energy you need to live a meaningful for as long as you live.
Written by: Susheela Daniel, co-founder Nordic Diversity Trainers OY / 2022