It's Time to Choose Your Fight

Let's talk about navigating overwhelm and why you can't fight for everything, but you can, and should, fight for something.

I met a new friend for lunch last week. We talked about how this administrations’ actions were incredibly distracting and overwhelming. We discussed how we know we have to narrow our focus, pick an issue or two, commit our time there, and take meaningful action in that space. We also acknowledged that this administration was creating overwhelm intentionally. Even knowing this, it is still difficult to narrow your focus while everything is on fire all at once around you.

Do you fight for our veterans or our federal workers? Do you fight to protect immigrants’ rights or trans’ rights? Do you fight for our public education system or our public lands? Do you fight for public health or our planet? Do you fight back against the federal government or your state and local governments (especially in red states)? How are you supposed to choose between what feels like impossible choices?

Here’s the hard truth. You do have to choose. Your time and energy are incredible resources that you must use intentionally.

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It’s time to choose your fight

I know it feels like it’s been a lifetime, but we’re only about 8 weeks into this administration. BAM, I know, I know, that one hurts to hear. Now unclench your jaw and take a deep breath. Have you been overwhelmed for 8 weeks? Anxious? Sad? Spiraling in your thoughts and thinking about the worst-case scenarios and what ifs? Are you feeling burned out or like you’re close to it? If so, here is your reminder that feeling however it is you’re feeling now is unsustainable. Stress, anxiety, etc. all play a toll on your life, health, and relationships. It also might lead you to throw in the towel - which is exactly what they want!

Cool, cool, cool… this is all unsustainable and so I should just chill out? Turn my overwhelm off? Stop despairing? Well, no. I know that’s easier said than done, and that’s not what I’m getting at. It’s inevitable that we will feel this way at least some of the time. The point I’m trying to make is that being overwhelmed all the time is only hurting you, and possibly your community, while doing nothing to help. It’s not productive or enabling you to take meaningful action.

All that to say, we’ve had our time to wallow in our overwhelm and some despair. If you haven’t yet, it’s time to pick your fight (or fights). You don’t necessarily have to pick just one issue or one area, but you do have to narrow the list down. To help narrow down where to focus, you could ask yourself what are you most passionate about? What are you most knowledgeable about? Do you have specific skills that would help a certain issue? How much time do you really have to give?

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Now, it’s time to take real, meaningful action

I’m going to give you a little harder truth now. Once you pick your fight, you need to take real meaningful action to move that issue forward. By narrowing down what you are going to fight for, it enables you to determine actionable steps to take for that specific fight. And you know what they say about action? It is the antidote to despair. By choosing your fight, you are taking a step towards moving out of despair and overwhelm.

Okay, so you’re ready to take action, but what does that mean? What actions should you take? Getting informed is so important and sharing accurate information online is helpful. I don’t want to downplay those things. Obviously, we spend a good amount of time doing both of those here at United SHE Stands, but NOTHING beats building community in person.

After you choose your fight, I want to challenge you to join an organization as one of your first action items, even if it’s out of your comfort zone. Actually, especially if it’s out of your comfort zone. Before you shy away from this, hear me out. Joining an organization doesn’t mean you have to make every single event or meeting. In reality, it doesn’t mean anyone has any expectations from you at all actually. You could sign up for their newsletter to stay informed and never attend a single meeting. You could go to one event a year (although we hope you’ll do more).

The point is, joining an organization is a great action to take for your fight and it should feel exciting. It’s not just one more commitment or thing to do on your calendar. It’s a step that opens up so many opportunities and avenues to get you closer to your goal. It gives you the opportunity to meet like-minded people and find others who want to help so you aren’t going it alone. It gives you a safe place to learn about issues and things going on in your community. It gives you a structure and actions for how to make meaningful change. And maybe most importantly, because we know it’s a marathon and not a sprint, it keeps you motivated. It’s something you can work into your life however best suits you.

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So, what about all those other issues I’m not focusing on?

If I’m only fighting for one or two issues, what about all the other important things that matter too? I’ve given you some hard truths today, so I’ll give you some good news now. The burden is not yours alone to carry. Someone out there will choose differently than you. Maybe you choose federal workers while your neighbor chooses veterans. Maybe one of your friends chooses public lands while another friend chooses public education. Maybe one neighbor chooses immigrants and another chooses trans people.

You can focus and fight for your issues while supporting your friends, neighbors, and community members who are doing the work for other issues that matter. It is not our burden to carry alone. Collectively, we can and will make so much more progress. It will take all of us to protect each other and our country.

Photo by Priscilla Gyamfi on Unsplash

Let’s change the world together

I’ll leave you with this. There is no wrong answer when choosing what to fight for. Every issue and organization needs folks to help. The only wrong thing you can do at this time is be paralyzed by overwhelm and indecision. Choose your fight and start taking action today to fight for the country we all want and deserve.

Not sure how to find organizations to join for your cause? Reach out to us. We’re more than happy to help!