Do you give yourself enough love?
Social change efforts like yours – nonprofit organizations, foundations, social movements – are so often borne from an act of love.
It might be love for your fellow human beings, the animals we share the planet with, or the earth itself.
Someone sees an injustice and creates an organization or a movement to rectify that injustice. Because, as Cornel West famously said, “Justice is what love looks like in public.”
So any act to create more justice is really just an effort to create more love.
But where so many social change leaders, just like you, often go wrong is in allowing their tremendous love for others to end before it reaches their own battered hearts.
If you are launching, or growing your social change effort from a personal place of deficit – which is exactly what a lack of self love is – then you have no hope of spreading your love to those you serve.
Just like one of my clients – I’ll call her Diana.
She had a grand vision for the cleanup of a major environmental disaster. She’d created an organization, recruited a board, raised funding for it, and made some impressive gains.
But she was completely burned out because she denied herself. Her lack of self love manifested when she:
- Second-guessed most of her decisions and abilities
- Was convinced she had NO time for rest & rejuvenation
- Rarely asked anyone for help
- Didn’t feel worthy of enough attention, money or resources
- Pretty regularly felt like a failure
Over the course of many months we brought her to a place of greater friendship – even love – with herself, by:
- Carving out regular time for fun and play
- Growing her delegation muscle
- Connecting her decision-making to her gut
- Increasing her confidence
- Cataloging her many gifts and accomplishments
And, by the way, as she grew her self love, her organization’s board, staff, funding streams and partners grew enormously.
Magic, huh?
There is a path back to self love for you too. And you can find it.
Because here’s the truth: You are a beautiful, loving and giving human being who was put on this earth to make it better.
So isn’t it time you showed yourself a little of that love that you freely share with others?
If you want some help paving your way back to self love, let’s talk.
Photo Credit: Mayur Gala
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