5 Ways to Make Activism a Little Easier When You Are Overwhelmed
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Do you remember the time when you decided that you wanted to change the world? Fix societal issues? Make someone’s life better? The drive to make the world, your country, your community a better place is exciting until the problem is staring directly at you.
Majority (if not all) of societal issues are global issues. Having a sustainable, good, quality of life can seem like an ambitious goal when you realize the scale of those issues. It doesn’t even include the amount of approaches you can to solve the issues or contribute to the movement.
I have been advocating for accessibility and disability issues for as long as I can remember. It started as a self-advocacy journey to get adequate accommodations for myself to full advocacy for all persons with disabilities for access and disability inclusion. I have been overwhelmed many times with how much that needs to be changed as disability issues intersect with all areas of life. Considering I am also limited by my own energy and capacity, it can be difficult to determine how I can contribute.
From the comparison with other activists to the many push backs and failures along the way, the struggle to find motivation and spark to continue can be difficult if you are overwhelmed with the problem. Should this keep you from trying to take action?
No, it shouldn’t.
The part of activism that is becoming more prominent in the space is the importance to set boundaries and take care of yourself. There is the pressure to do more, get bigger, scale higher. But none of that would be helpful if you are not able to sustain that. Local is just as important as global, if not more important because you probably have the expertise by being part of the local community. Both sizes can be overwhelming in their own way so here are five ways you can make it less overwhelming.
Be in love with the problem
I am not talking about keeping the problem forever, the goal is to make the problem better or non-existent. However, we can be too focused on a particular solution that may not be the best approach to solve the problem. Being in love with the problem means that you are constantly learning, listening, and finding different ways to make it better. No solution is ever one size fits all.
Stay with your capacity
We all have a life. Responsibilities and needs that have to be met. There are so many ways you can contribute that best fits your capacity and it will change as life goes on. What you were able to do while in school compared to a job and family is drastically different and your advocacy and activism should adapt to it. Contributing something is better than not doing anything at all.
Collaborate!
It does not have to be a lonely experience and it shouldn’t be! Plus, everyone has a different skill set, interests, and capacities that can make doing activism and advocacy feel worthwhile. There is a certain amount of momentum when doing it with others who want the same goal. It helps with scalability as different skill sets and capacities are needed to achieve the goal you envision.
Take breaks
Seriously, take breaks. We all need rest. We all need time away. It makes your contribution much stronger when you are not burnt out. When you have clarity and creativity to solve the next problem, to improve an approach, and the energy to collaborate. You cannot help others if you are burnt out.
Appreciate the small wins
While we would love to solve global issues in a short amount of time, we are in it for the long haul. It is a journey. You will probably fail, something did not work as expected and/or something happened that forces you to rethink your perspective and approach. Those “fails” will be learning opportunities to those wins that you look back on. Take in the small wins whenever you can. If you have the opportunity to be part of a major win, be in the moment and embrace it with all you can.
These are steps that you can take to make advocacy and activism a better experience. It is hard and long but the little moments and the people you do it with will make it worthwhile. I hope you feel like you are meaningfully contributing to the problems you hope to alleviate and move towards a time when it is no longer an issue.
Amanda