Make a Difference With an Activism Opportunity Perfect for You

Author
Recent Posts

Follow Me

The Activist for Activists. Author of Make a Difference with Mental Health Activism and The Happy Activist: Journey the 5-Step Activism Path to Focus Your Passion and Change the World. Teacher, Psychologist, Environmental Activist, Animal Lover.

Follow Me

Make a Difference: How You Can Leave a Lasting Impact

What Does it Mean to Make a Difference?

Making a difference is about using your unique skills, talents, and experiences to create positive change in the world. You can make a difference through volunteering, activism, donating to a cause, or simply being a good person.

Why Should You Care About Making a Difference?

Making a difference is important:

It’s fulfilling: Making a difference can bring a sense of purpose and fulfillment to your life. When you know that you’re making a positive impact, you’ll feel more motivated and energized.
You become a role model: When you make a difference, you inspire others to do the same. This ripple effect may spread wider than you imagine.
We need you: The world needs people like you who are willing to make a difference.

Use The Activism Path to Make a Difference

Because you care about your cause, you want to make a difference.

In the previous three steps of the Activism Path you

focused your passion,
inventoried your gifts, and
considered activism methods that motivate you.

All your previous work on the five-step Activism Path pays off here in step four. You combine what you’ve learned about yourself to find the perfect activism opportunity.

An Activism Scenario

Monique helps her mother care for her brother, who has a diagnosis of depression. It is hard to meet his needs, but so rewarding when she helps them improve. Because of her experiences, she’s interested in assisting caregivers, but she doesn’t know precisely how.

So she picks one opportunity from a list and tries it. After a day spent trying to raise funds for an upcoming rally at the statehouse, she knows that this isn’t her cup of tea. It doesn’t fit her skills. The work isn’t motivating, and it doesn’t impact caregivers directly.

A Better Scenario

Monique knows herself well, but she let the number of possible opportunities overwhelm her. Instead of trying techniques to narrow her options, she simply picked one at random.

Monique works as a bookkeeper, and in her spare time she likes to sing and give friends creative manicures. These are specific gifts that she can match to her passion for helping caregivers.

She spends some time trying to combine her gifts with her passion. Her best skill is singing, so she ponders how she can use that to help caregivers. She jots down some ideas.

Have an open mike fundraising concert.
Make a playlist of relaxing songs for caregivers to use when times get challenging.
Singing lessons for caregivers.
Giving singing lessons to those with the diagnosis to allow caregivers time off.

Monique knows the idea of giving caregivers time off by providing singing lessons is perfect for her.

Tips for Choosing the Right Activism Opportunity

If you have completed the first three steps of the Activism Path, you are well on your way to finding the right activism opportunity to make a difference for your cause. And you can do that with activism you love.

With this work under your belt, you are

prepared to talk about how you can best contribute to an organization,
ready to match your personal motivation to your activism work,
and empowered to have a conversation about the perfect options for you and the organization.

My book, The 5-Step Activism Path Workbook, has templates for

brainstorming activism options
ranking your activism opportunities to determine the best fit
talking with organizations and other activists to find out your perfect match.
negotiating what work you wish to do

For example, if you are skilled in teaching, you can ensure that you are using your talents to their fullest. Don’t get stuck making phone calls when you want to teach others about your cause and how they can make a difference.

One of my favorite techniques for generating ideas is using intersections. With your solid understanding of your talents, motivation, and cause, this brainstorming technique provides ways for you to make a difference. At the intersection of drawing, teaching, and fighting racism is an activism opportunity. Teach a course to help racism victims tell their stories through art.