How to Take Stock of the Gifts You Bring to Activism
A practical guide to identifying the skills, knowledge, lived experience, and motivation you can use to support your cause.
Your Gifts and Your Activism
You do not have to become someone else to make a difference. Step 2 of the 5-Step Activism Path helps you notice the abilities, experiences, knowledge, and motivations you already bring to your cause.
When your activism fits your gifts, it is more likely to feel meaningful, useful, and sustainable.
Why Using Your Unique Gifts Matters
Effective activists match their skills and abilities to the cause closest to their heart and experience higher engagement, satisfaction, and success.
What Counts as a Gift?
Skills
Examples of skills include writing, organizing, art, teaching, listening, planning, caregiving, researching, building, and speaking.
Knowledge
What you know through education, work, life experience, reading, culture, community, or personal interest.
Motivation
What keeps you engaged: translating your values into action, enjoying the work, being with others, and learning new skills.
1. Inventory Your Skills
What skills can you use in activism? Spoiler alert: Activists use many nontraditional skills, including painting, kayaking, and cooking. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
To find your best skills, ask yourself:
- When I think about my daily life, what skills do I use regularly? Sometimes, our skills are disguised as everyday habits. Are you a great listener? This is essential for building relationships and understanding others’ perspectives.
- What am I the go-to person for? Ask friends or colleagues what they see as your greatest strengths. Sometimes, others can see our gifts more clearly than we can.
- Maybe you get the call when someone has a tricky problem to solve. Your ability to think outside the box can help many causes.
Example: Nina Uses Design for Environmental Change
Nina found the cause closest to her heart: preventing water pollution and runoff in her city.
She analyzes her skills:
The skills I use regularly are organizing events and creating brochures. I enjoy using my design to communicate with others. I am the go-to person for flyers for my kids’ school. Many people call me to get help with graphic design.
Nina realizes her design skills are valued (and she enjoys the work). She uses her talent to create visually compelling materials for a local environmental campaign to change zoning requirements to prevent runoff into the waterways.
2. List Your Knowledge
Next, take stock of what you know. You don’t need activism expertise to start; you can always learn as you go. However, understanding your current knowledge will help you see what you bring to the activism table.
Inventory where you have understanding or expertise, even if it is unrelated to activism.
- Where are you the “go-to person” for vital information?
- Reflect on the questions people often ask you. What topics do they assume you know well?
- List areas where you’ve accumulated knowledge through education, work, or life experiences.
- Consider the types of publications you read, the media you consume, and the groups you engage with. This can provide insight into your areas of knowledge.
Reflect on Perspective and Cultural Competence
Cultural competence is understanding how to connect with people from diverse backgrounds, a skill essential to your success as an activist. Consider your background and how it shapes your attitudes and behaviors.
Ask yourself:
- What perspectives do I bring?
- Where do I have lived experience?
- Where do I need to listen and learn?
- What assumptions might I need to examine before acting?
Recognize where you hold privilege and how it affects your work, and find areas where you can grow. A great place to start building cultural competence is the BuzzFeed quiz “How Privileged Are You?“
Example: Renata Uses Tech Skills Responsibly
Renata works as a software developer and is the go-to person in her friend group for anything tech-related. The cause closest to her heart is women’s health. She is clear about her unique knowledge but she takes time to reflect on her cultural competence.
After I took the How Privileged Are You? quiz, I realized the many areas where I hold privilege. As a white, educated, straight person in the United States I see where that has opened doors for me. On the other hand, I have experienced obstacles being a woman and I believe that is why I chose my cause. Getting better at cultural competence will make me a better activist.
When a women’s health group needed help with its website, Renata revamped it so they gained more visibility, organic visits, and donations.
3. Understand Your Motivation
Long-term, effective activists are clear about their motivations and make sure they are central to their work. When your activism inspires you, it will sustain you through tough times, helping you stay committed for the long haul.
Personal motivation falls into four categories:
Translating Values Into Change
On the path to activism, you become clear about your values and passions for making change. The opportunity to translate those values and passions into activism work will motivate you.
Enjoying the Work Itself
Feeling satisfaction from the work itself is a powerful motivator. It is lovely to just enjoy doing work. If you are motivated by the work, you will work harder to support your cause.
Connecting with Others
We have a built-in need to socialize. Activism with friends or family can be motivating, even if you are working on their cause rather than yours.
Feeling Capable and Learning
Feeling capable motivates you. And if you achieve your goals for activism, you will experience better self-esteem.
Rank order these items, with 1 being your highest motivator and 4 being your lowest motivator.
_____ Translating values into positive change
_____ Satisfaction from the activism work itself
_____ Enjoyment from working with others
_____ Feeling capable and learning
It is wonderful if you find all four motivating. But build the most motivating one into your activism work.
Example: Pamela Connects Activism to Values
When Pamela evaluates her personal motivations, she is not surprised that her top motivator is translating her values into positive change. Her childhood was full of community and faith-based service with her family. As an adult, she has focused more on the cause dearest to her, which is disability activism. As she works to help those with disabilities, she feels she is truly living her values.
Want a Guided Inventory of your Activism Gifts?
Get the Workbook
The 5-Step Activism Path Workbook includes an Activism Skills, Knowledge, and Experiences Inventory to help you identify the strengths, abilities, experiences, and motivations you may bring to your cause.
It is designed to help you notice what you already have to offer before you choose the activism methods that fit your life.
Also Available
The Happy Activist introduces the 5-Step Activism Path and offers a research-based approach to meaningful, sustainable activism.
Designed for both new and experienced activists, it combines practical guidance, real-world examples, and evidence-based strategies to help you create change without burning out.
Featured Resources
Explore resources for identifying your gifts.
What's Next?
Go to Step 3: How to Find the Best Activism Method
Now that you have started narrowing your cause, the next step is to identify the strengths, skills, and experiences you bring to the work.
Resources for making a difference.
Find a path that fits your life.
Find a path that fits your life.
