So. Someone read my last blog post and told me that it was a really “motivating” experience. I chose to only highlight that part, because I don’t want to sound dramatic.
(but honestly, drama is great for the shareability so maybe I’ll embrace the possibility.)
I hate being motivational:
It’s not that I’m not grateful for the emotional responses that the ideas I share with a person can trigger. Far from it, I actually am really struggling with the idea that motivation actually doesn’t generally get much accomplished.
For example:
Someone motivated to make a change as it relates to women’s rights might show up to a march one time. Sure they come out in force and they show support and it helps to make people feel like there are people who care about the cause… But on a daily basis, how many people continue to be determined to be a champion of the rights of women.
How many of us know which people are actually working to undo legislation that harms female agency? How many people are reaching out to the trans community to ask how they can use their voice to make their issues heard? How many of us are making sure that we work on our own biases? When we encounter sexist rhetoric or behavior in media do we address it with our friends, family and children?
I’m really trying to make sure that the way that I go about my life shows my determination to contribute positively to that which I am passionate about and that for those issues that I care about, but cannot make time or space for, that I at the very least do not knowingly become an obstacle to their progress.
Like I said before, I hate being motivational. But only in the circumstance that I create motion rather than progress. If I’m going to be motivational, I want to be motivational at the time where it’s the tipping point into a commitment. Where it gets the movement to critical mass and change becomes inevitable.
If you walked away from this feeling motivated, I don’t think I’ve done my job. If you’ve walked away certain that you want to recommit to your passions in life or determined to find the things that burn you up enough action is the only response you can fathom, then I’ve done my job. I’m here to spark determination.