It’s natural to want more, isn’t it?
Bigger. Stronger. Better. MORE. There’s tremendous pressure to keep growing and adding every year. But “more” can cause more mayhem if you’re not ready for it.
A few years ago I learned this lesson the hard way. I was saying yes to everything – and it was burning me out.
The only compass I was looking at was total revenue, and I fell into the trap of comparing little baby HeartSpark to larger nonprofit branding agencies with decades of experience and full-time team members.
All this comparison was chipping away at my mental health – literally having daily breakdowns and working through exhaustion. During a particularly stressful week, I even lost my eyesight for an hour.
Terrifying 😱
After putting up some temporary boundaries, I started seeing a psychiatrist to help me manage stress and hired a business coach to help me work on the business.
There were so many parallels along the way, but the big AHA moment was that I had blended my personal identity with my business. If the business failed, it meant I was a failure. So by chasing “more” I was building my own self-worth.
Yikes 😬
Many nonprofit leaders are instinctively helpers and caretakers and I worry you may fall into a similar trap that I did. So let me say this loud and clear:
Your worth is not tied to your nonprofit. You are a steward of this great work.
So before you add MORE to your plate for this year, please learn from my mistakes and take inventory of what you’re chasing. Here are some of the questions that helped me get clarity (and I still use to check in and keep myself on track):
- What does success look like?
- What does it feel like?
- How do I currently feel about my work?
- What opportunities is [your nonprofit] poised to take on this year?
- Where am I looking for relief or a shortcut to success? Why?
I fully believe that you were created to run a successful nonprofit that not only changes lives, but also adds to your mental health.
Your nonprofit will naturally grow and change over time – it doesn’t mean you have to do all the things at every stage. There is a season for everything and it’s important for the health of your nonprofit (and YOU!) to take it in stride.
P.S. I had the pleasure of contributing to MemoryFox’s Ethical Storytelling Report! This free guide answers our sector’s toughest questions about navigating ethical storytelling, trauma-informed language, privacy and consent. Download your copy here!
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