Hi everyone, I normally post on Tuesdays, but I know many people are getting back to work today, so I thought I would send some words of encouragement. And those words are:
“OMG everything is crappy and I feel like crap and I don’t want to write this blog I really just want to finish watching Heated Rivalry the Canadian show about sexy smoldering gay hockey players and not have to think about the uncontained dumpster fire that is end-stage capitalism and imperialism ugh I’m not sure I can make it through today much less this entire week and if anyone asks me about my resolutions this year I’m going to lose it I’m just gonna be curled up in the fetal position on my couch stuffing my face with leftover holiday chocolate!”
This is one of the worst weeks ever. It’s usually cold and dark (Southern Hemisphere colleagues, don’t rub it in!), and all the good cheer from the holidays is gone, and now we are confronted with cold, hard reality. We all look as haggard and depleted and droopy and frayed at the edges as the office plants some people forgot to take home before they went on break.
Anyway, if you’re feeling like crap, you’re in good company. Take it easy on yourself. Here are a few reminders I hope will be helpful as you navigate today, the rest of this week, and the rest of 2026. They’re all things I or others have said before, but it’s good to hear them again, especially during times like these:
You are amazing and so brilliant and cool: People in our sector are usually so humble. But to do this work, with all its challenges and shenanigans, requires an extreme level of creativity and ingenuity that the rest of the world takes for granted, and most of us also don’t take enough time to acknowledge. You are smart and talented, and the fact that you’re using your brilliance to help make people’s lives better, our community stronger, and the world more just—makes you super cool! Look in the mirror the next time you’re in the bathroom and take a moment to appreciate how awesome you are.
Your work makes a greater impact than you may ever know: I think a lot of the “blah” feeling many of us experience around this time is a result of wondering if anything we do makes any difference in the grand scheme of things, or if it’s all just an existential hamster wheel. Your work transforms lives and strengthens community. It’s just that oftentimes, the people you help may not have the time or language or emotional capacity at the moment to let you know. The work you do is like going skinny-dipping on a moonless night: You create significant ripples, even if you don’t see them and may never.
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