Action Into Passion: Your Journey to Activism and Advocacy
On a blue background, the title “Action Into Passion: Your Journey to Activism and Advocacy,” with white and purple curvy lines on the top left and bottom right corner.
Have you ever questioned why you do activism or advocacy work?
What motivated you to do it in the first place?
For many of us, activism and advocacy is part of our life whether or not we actually chose to do the work. It typically starts because we want to change and improve something that has happened that we as individuals don’t think is right for the world we envision. Once we make that decision as individuals, then we find like-minded people to work together as a collective and strengthen each other’s individual work and collective action.
There are so many ways to do the work that it never looks the same for each person. Some people are the traditional media view of an activist, on the street, speaking for what is right. Some people are volunteering their time to contribute to the solutions of the issues they care about. Some people are paid to do the work which can be shown in many different ways from the workplace’s mission to the task at hand. For some people, it is a mixture of many different avenues that shaped their different motivations.
The work is inherently emotional. The need for change is usually struck by an emotional connection or an emotional response to situations that exist in our society from local, national, and international levels. This can be a core element that turns action into a passion for change. Taking action and vary between people. It can happen in many different ways from small to large, from one time to many times taking action. But it is fueled by a reaction. The question then is, can you keep fueling it or do life circumstances already fuel it for you.
What turns action into a passion for change is how that momentum is working with you and what you have done to maintain it. It is incredibly easy to be unmotivated when change is something that happens overtime and is not always noticeable. Below are some of the lessons that have to be learned and understood to make it easier to fuel activism and advocacy into passion.
You need to know your why and what is driving you to do the work. This serves as your reminder.
We all have our own strengths and paths. Just because one’s personal journey is a specific path does not mean that it is yours or that it looks the same for you.
Connect with your interests and connection to the issue you care about. We all have intersecting interests on issues. Finding your place where you are driven to the most to take action and connecting it to your niche interests can make it easier to make an impact.
We can all be labeled a specific activist or advocate (disability activist, climate activist, etc.) but the work rarely looks exactly the same for each person. We can work collaboratively to learn and contribute to the larger vision and goal for society.
Intersectionality is key. Without considering other perspectives within the issue you are working on, the work will always be in silo.
It is always a group effort. Your work as an individual may be small to you, but it is a contribution to a larger effort moving the needle forward.
Breaks are okay. However, it will not look the same to everyone. Some people can step away fully but for some people, that may not be an option. Reducing the work is okay too, even if you see or experience the harm on a regular basis. No one can do this work on an empty tank, especially if the little energy you have left is required for surviving. There is always work sadly. Come back when you feel ready.
Making activism and advocacy a passionate effort requires understanding the bigger picture that is hard to see on a day to day basis. Learning and working with other activists and advocates in the space is how I learned those lessons along my journey. I hope my lessons will help you find your place to passionately do the work for greater change.
Amanda