Living in the COVID-19 World ... and Beyond #25: Overcoming Discouragement with Projects that are Big Enough to Matter and Small Enough to Win

I have some very big goals … like ending racism and successfully addressing the climate crisis.  I like having big goals that I can point myself towards.   These big long-term goals keep me focused.  I can organize my life to take steps towards achieving these big goals.

One challenge with big long-term goals though is seeing success, knowing that one is making a difference.  It can feel quite discouraging when it is difficult to see progress against one’s big long-term goals.   Discouragement can pile up and become so heavy that one no longer can find the motivation to act. 

I think there are two key methods for coping with discouragement, one is more emotional and the other is more strategic.

On the emotional side, I think we need to talk about what has us feeling discouraged.   It is important that this not be just an opportunity to complain but rather a chance to explore how it makes us feel.    In my experience, the discouragements that I face on a daily or weekly basis often remind me of discouragements from much earlier in my life when I had many fewer resources (friends, knowledge, access) to address whatever was discouraging.    Going back and re-telling these stories from earlier in my life, sometimes even re-writing them so that I would get help that was not then actually available, seems quite useful and frees me from the depths of discouragement that could slow me down.

In change management we often talk about quick wins or grabbing the low hanging fruit.   This is to generate momentum by building self-confidence and mobilizing more people to the issues you are striving to address.   I have often relied on a quote from Jonathan Kozol, a noted education reformer: “Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.”   These battles need to align with our big long-term goals, they need to be something that can actually be accomplished, and something that would make a difference.  I get excited when I have landed on a project that meets these conditions.  

Do you have projects in your life that are big enough to matter and small enough to win?

One project that I’m currently involved in with my synagogue to address the climate crisis is a big enough to matter, small enough to win project.   We have set 3 goals:  to move the synagogue building itself towards zero emissions, to have the members of the congregation move their money from the big banks that fund fossil fuel extraction and expansion to green banks that have sustainable policies, and to impact how our city develops and implements policies and plans in line with the climate emergency resolution that we helped to get approved last year.   We can do this.  It might take a few years but its definitely doable.  We can win.  And it matters.  It matters for the team working on it.  It matters for our congregation.   And it sets an example of what is possible that could have ripple effects.

What is your project that Is big enough to matter and small enough to win?