Welcome to the Give A Shit Challenge Day Two! Day Two’s focus is on doing a little research to find out who is already doing the work on whatever it is that’s upsetting you.
You’re reading the transcript of an episode of the How to Be a Better Person podcast. If you’d rather listen, click the play button below.
Listen to the Podcast Here
Because here’s a crucial thing to keep in mind when it comes to making a difference on issues big and small, global and local:
You don’t need to be the savior rushing in a white horse. And you most likely don’t need to start figuring out things on your own, especially if your chosen focus is big, such as gun violence or climate change. Perhaps if you want to support a friend in need and no one yet knows about their predicament, you may be the first to arrive on the scene. But in the vast majority of cases, whatever is hooking your attention already has people who are doing the work.They know the lay of the land, and they have a strategy. What they need, is all kinds of help.
This is how the thought of doing something that makes a difference becomes a LOT less overwhelming. You don’t have to do all the heavy lifting and the figuring out. You just join forces.
Think of it this way. You just need to add your drop of water to the stream or river that’s already flowing–if we all did that, those streams would swell into rivers, would ultimately coalesce into an ocean. It’s a question of quantity of people engaged around an issue, not the size of the effort each person gives out.
Daily Tiny Assignment
Your tiny assignment today is do some Googling, or maybe reaching out to friends, to find out who is doing the work on things that you care about. This may be something that takes longer than a day, but let today be the day that you start to figure it out. If you care about climate change, I bet you know someone who is perhaps engaged on this issue and can steer you toward a reputable group. Because the thing is, you not only want to find the people who are doing the work, but you want to know that they’re doing it in a way that you can get behind.
I remember when my husband and I were writing our wills
And our lawyer asked what we wanted to happen if we and our kids all died at the same time. (Aside from the expense, these kinds of questions are exactly why people resist writing wills! Talk about confronting your mortality!! Nevertheless, it’s a hugely important thing to do that if you need a nudge on doing it, here it is. You can find low-cost solutions in fill in the blank forms online, which is better than nothing. And if you can, it’s worth the investment–both for your survivors after you’re gone, and your peace of mind while you’re alive. End of spiel.)
ANYWAY, I wanted to think of causes that each of us cared about that we donate any assets to. My daughter is a huge animal lover, so I wanted to include an animal-focused organization. I just happened to be chatting about it with a friend who is the biggest animal devotee I know. She has an absolute menagerie of rescued animals, from dogs to donkey to cats to ducks. I can no longer remember which organizations she was talking about, but she told me she’d researched this and one organization really didn’t devote much of their funding to actual animal care, while another one did. It was information I was glad to have (and that I verified through a little online research of my own).
So, do some Googling. Talk to a friend who also cares about this thing
See what you can find out about the group or groups that are already doing good work. We’ll talk about how to add your drop of water to that pre-existing stream or river tomorrow, in day Three. Come on back!!
AND if you’d like a free sticker that has a very cute turquoise poop emoji and that says I Give a Shit, go to beabetterpersonpodcast.com and use the contact Kate button to send me your mailing address and I will send one off to you. Yes, I even send them internationally. Please, I hate clutter and I ordered a bunch of these stickers! You’ll be doing me a favor! And you’ll help spread the work that giving a shit is a cool thing to do.
Be sure to come back tomorrow, when we start using our power for good.
