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thisfinecrew2018-02-20 11:26 am
elucidate_this) wrote in thisfinecrew2018-02-20 11:26 am
Give Up on Giving Up
Hello all,
If you are anything like me you are having some trouble maintaining a positive or even neutral attitude in the face of everything going on right now in the US. I often feel powerless and afraid and like there is nothing I can do. Many many days I give up on making change because it feels too hard.
That attitude sucks and I'm looking to leave it behind.
A friend of mine came up with an idea to combat that thinking and I think it could work really well with this comm.
So, I think it's time to give up on giving up for Lent (or for something else, or for funsies).
Every day (except absolutely spoonless days like yesterday) I will take one action in line with my values of equity and empathy. This does not have to be something that costs money, nor does it have to be something that takes a lot of time. It is choose your own adventure, pick your values, pick actions that fit with your interests/budget/energy level.
I think this is the kind of thing that works better with buddies. We could make a post here, we could make a text chain, we could do an email chain, there are probably ways to communicate that I'm not thinking of.
Is anybody interested in joining in?
If you are anything like me you are having some trouble maintaining a positive or even neutral attitude in the face of everything going on right now in the US. I often feel powerless and afraid and like there is nothing I can do. Many many days I give up on making change because it feels too hard.
That attitude sucks and I'm looking to leave it behind.
A friend of mine came up with an idea to combat that thinking and I think it could work really well with this comm.
So, I think it's time to give up on giving up for Lent (or for something else, or for funsies).
Every day (except absolutely spoonless days like yesterday) I will take one action in line with my values of equity and empathy. This does not have to be something that costs money, nor does it have to be something that takes a lot of time. It is choose your own adventure, pick your values, pick actions that fit with your interests/budget/energy level.
I think this is the kind of thing that works better with buddies. We could make a post here, we could make a text chain, we could do an email chain, there are probably ways to communicate that I'm not thinking of.
Is anybody interested in joining in?
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One thing I wonder is what you can count toward this. My job is heavily dependent on empathy, do work things count? It seems like they shouldn't but honestly, if I don't count work I'm probably only going to be able to do this if I count work.
Anyway, internal conflict, blah blah blah.
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Here are some suggestions for small things you might feel able to do, even on bad days.
1. Sign up for a mailing list, to keep yourself informed or to give you actions to take once you have more oomph.
2. Read an article to understand more about an issue you care about.
3. Cheerlead someone else -- in this comm, on another social media site, or in real-life. Helping to keep other people motivated is really important to help all of us keep moving forward.
4. Be kind to yourself and accept that sometimes life happens, sometimes we miss a day on a habit we try to be regular about, and the best thing we can do is say, "I'll start again tomorrow".
I hope this helps! (FWIW, I think you stored up a lot of credit already just by posting about this idea in the comm in the first place and motivating other people.)
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I met with my new boss about social justice issues at work. Not only was she WAY better than my old boss during my little presentation but she agreed to give me 15 minutes during every staff meeting (biweekly) to work on social justice stuff. I'm so excited I might die.
Yay!
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Maybe we could do an individual pledge goal for a time period like a month (or Lent) and then mid-week check-ins on say, Weds, to complement the Sunday check-ins?
I can help with posting those.
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Check In
I have decided that one of my best actions toward not giving up is giving myself a break. So I'm not shooting for every day, I'm going to try Wednesday, Friday, and one weekend day. (I work late on M,T & Th)
Last week I made a lot of baby hats which is not a political action so much as self care and putting good things out in the universe. I also met with my boss about social justice and she agreed to give me time during all staff meetings. I also made this post.
So I'm feeling pretty decent about this whole not giving up thing.