Don't let others talk you out of trying to make a difference

 

What?

During this Manifesto, we have talked about reconnected to courage at length; Courage can sometimes be seen as doing the right thing, the big thing. Sometimes though, courage is just acknowledging the harsh reality or keeping hope alive when it seems bleak. So many times, burning out can be a large obstacle to overcome to return to this state of hopefulness. As individuals stay longer in a certain place or field, working towards certain goals, failing, succeeding, ebbs and flows of progress can make I difficult to keep the same motivation and idealism or passion that you may have once had for a cause (Novogratz, 2020). This is why diversity, and expansion can be so valuable to an organization or progress. Fresh eyes or fresh perspectives can also regenerate some of that faith that the cause we are working for or towards still matters, that we are making a difference, and that even if the problem is never solved permanently, we may not be everything to everyone, but we can be everything to someone if we continue pushing forward.

So What?

As a member of the youngest generation in the workforce, this is not something that was introduced to me by Novogratz, but something I have experienced firsthand. As someone who works with youth and has done work specifically with youth that have had significant and specific needs to met within our programs, I have experienced when newer team members have these grand ideas to better the work that we are doing and more experienced team members snuff out the flames, based on their experience. Sometimes, this could be because they have tried similar ideas and have been less than successful, sometimes it is because they have lost their spark. When you have seen so much or even experienced so much firsthand, it can be difficult to not get more sanicle than you once were. That is a valid experience and sometimes can lead to burnout or deciding to change careers or paths, but it is important even in out hopeless times, to not spread that loss of faith (Novogratz, 2020). It is also important to understand that the experience of others’ is not our own. That sentiment is two-fold. The first being that we cannot assume because we were unsuccessful, or even less successful, that others who try will be too; If anything, we should hope that our success is always beaten out by whoever comes next. The second is we must not discourage ourselves from trying because someone else has had a negative experience. If someone tries sushi and doesn’t like it, or even if it makes them sick, that does not mean that you should never eat sushi again if it is your favorite food. It means you hear them out, maybe learn from their mistakes, and validate that their experience is different than yours.

Now What?

We also need to be courageous enough in our hopefulness to take other’s experiences and let those fuel our fire, not fizzle it out. Telling stories of success, big or small, to allow the positivity to catch. To tell the stories that can be hard to tell, allowing the passion in others to ignite. We need to be able to listen to others’ failures or hardships and let it drive us to keep trying again and again and celebrating every step of progress we make, even at times where we take one step forward after seven steps back. Consider this: what would have happened if Thomas Edison was told by scientist that came before him that his efforts would fail without a doubt? What if he had decided that his inventions were not worth the failure to even try? Think of every social or political activist in history in the same context. Every time someone has made strides of changes throughout history globally, nationally, or within the context of a small-scale community, they could have faced those who told them it would not work, or to not be so hopeful, or why even try. But they did not quit and the world, even just a small corner of it, was better because of it. We can heed the warnings of others, without stopping our ways forward to making progress.

References

Novogratz, J. (2020). Manifesto for a moral revolution: practices to build a better world (First edition.). Henry Holt and Company.