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Are you afraid of getting stretched too thin or crushed by the weight of your goal?
If you are one of those people who wants to do everything, study everything, and solve every problem – preferably by yesterday - this might be where you feel like your best self (filled with curiosity, enthusiasm, passion), but also where you hit decision-paralysis, overwhelm and being stretched too thin. And what about when your incredible goal and vision are so big that sometimes you just feel crushed by them? Here are some ideas from a passionate changemaker about how to avoid getting burnt out, worn too thin or overwhelmed by a planet-sized goal.
Even changemakers and adventurers can fear change and challenge
Just because you're a changemaker or adventurer (or hoping to be), that doesn’t necessarily mean you like change, challenge, uncertainty or risk. Maybe you actually hate it, but you just know things must change. You can’t ignore that little voice, unsee that vision, or turn a blind eye. Aurélie Villaespesa, from the Climate Youth Negotiator Programme and fresh from COP 30, loves change and challenge. Can she inspire you to feel more warmly towards change and challenge, so that you can experience more joy, thrill, satisfaction, resilience and opportunities for awe (even if uncertainty, discomfort, disappointment and all the rest have to tag along too), doing what matters for people, planet & yourself?
Sceptics and self-doubt: your fears as a changemaker & adventurer
You envisage a different and better way, but what if you are challenged by sceptics? How do you cope with your own self-doubt? How do you avoid being crushed by the enormity of your goal when it’s as big as saving the planet?
Crikey it’s not surprising if sometimes we feel like giving up before we’ve even started (and several more times after that if we’re honest), given that these are just some of the common fears of changemakers and adventurers.
I talked to Aurélie Villaespesa, Community Enabler for the Climate Youth Negotiator Programme (CYNP), freshly back from COP30, and got some gems that might help if you share some of these fears.