Activism Reimagined

I was recently introduced to the work of Karen Walrond author of The Lightmaker’s Manifesto. Karen’s writing reimagines activism.

Here is how Karen defines an ‘activist’:

AN ACTIVIST IS ANYONE WHOSE VALUES LEAD THEM TO PURPOSEFUL ACTION, IN THE HOPES OF MAKING THE WORLD BRIGHTER FOR OTHERS.

Karen explains “To be called activism, there needs to be an action, of course, but it needs to be one that’s propelled by your values — it’s not merely a small act done without much thought, … but rather one that you have no choice but do, because to do otherwise would mean failing to stand in your integrity.”

Over the last few years of my corporate executive career, my values of honesty, authenticity and zest contributed to the formation of questions that I felt deeply compelled to answer.

These questions included:
Why do so many workplace environments caused good people to behave so badly?

What might be possible if more people felt empowered to be their best selves at work more often?

How might I meaningfully contribute to the co-creation of workplaces where people and performance can thrive?<

The answers to these questions led me to establish The Centre For Self Fidelity.

Today, I consider the work I do to empower leaders to reconnect with their essential nature a form of activism.

I believe that now more than ever, we must restore our faith in ourselves, and each other.

By honouring our deepest self, we liberate our highest potential

SELF-FIDELITY PRACTICE TO PLAY WITH

Here are a couple of burning questions for you to reflect upon this week.

In the poem Sometimes, David Whyte writes about questions that “have no right to go away”.

What are the burning questions that have no right to go away, for you?

What are the questions that are powerful enough to ignite enough courage to take purposeful action?

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.
Franklin D. Roosevelt