When you care deeply about a cause, often you will go the extra mile to make change happen. You work long hours and go for extended periods without taking days off. Injustice doesn’t take a vacation; how can you? You live by the adage that “it’s better to wear out than rust out.” Your enthusiasm may even be fueled by others’ lack of passion. You can see what others aren’t doing and that makes you want to do even more.  

Passion is good. Justice-focused work requires a strong sense of intrinsic motivation and persistence. But just as these qualities can contribute to success, they can also lead to activists’ emotional and physical undoing. Molly Longman writes about an activist named Nialah Edari, a committed young woman in New York City who organized protests against police brutality in the fall of 2020. One day, Nialah discovered a bald spot on her scalp. The bald spot was just the beginning. After learning she had cystic acne, Nailah recognized that her “body was screaming at her” for rest.  

Karen Walrond suggests there are at least two ways to thrive as an activist. The first is to expand our definition of activism. Any way that you are bringing light into the world — speaking up for a coworker, volunteering for a charity bake sale — you are involved in activism. Second, Walrond recommends that we reflect on what we want to do instead of what we should do. Standing against injustice and inequity is difficult enough on its own. Keep the joy in the work by doing the work. Think about what you’re motivated and gifted to do and you will thrive as you work for change.  

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Before you go

Exhaustion doesn’t happen all at once. It creeps up slowly. Other people may notice the symptoms before we do: We’re easily irritated. We’re tired. We try to compensate for being tired by working more. 

If the Lenten season taught us anything, it is to respect and remember our humanity. Jesus cried out from the cross on Good Friday, not in victory, but in human agony (Matthew 27:50). After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples to commission them to continue his ministry of healing, teaching and preaching.  

What’s comforting is that before he gave them work to do, he shared a meal with them (John 21:10). The disciples were not “supermen” and “superwomen.” They were ordinary people who needed food, rest and laughter for a complete life. As resurrection people who are passionate about bringing change to the world, let’s remember to respect our humanity as we pursue God’s mission.  

You can always reach me and the Alban Weekly team at alban@duke.edu. Until next week, keep leading!