As I’ve chatted with advocates and volunteers since the most recent US election, one thing is clear: no one really knows what to expect in 2023. Many Americans are looking around and scratching their heads. Even those who were pleasantly surprised by the outcome are coming to the realization that we dialed up two more years of gridlock because neither major party has a mandate to govern.
But on top of that, we’re already jumping headfirst into the next Presidential election cycle.
Never willing to give up the spotlight, the pundits began predicting the 2024 contest as early as election night 2022. Unfortunately for real people, that abrupt transition is causing whiplash. As volunteers for issue campaigns sit and wait for their next bite at the advocacy apple, they may be feeling more than a bit overwhelmed in preparing for 2023 and beyond.
So what can you do? How can you set yourself up to get above those overwhelming pressures? How can you maintain your sanity and thrive through the next season of political tension?
Here are a few do’s and dont’s where you could start:
First up, don’t go it alone any more. A sad reality I see in American life is that most of us live our civic lives in a deeply private way. I get it. We keep our politics private because issues make us uncomfortable. They can reveal us as uninformed on a topic, or they can drive wedges between us and others in our lives. That’s not terribly appealing. So it’s perfectly understandable that we push our politics aside in our daily lives.
But that choice places us in a strange spot. By not finding our tribes – by staying private – we ignore a truism of the human experience: engaging with others makes us better. Even in groups of like-minded individuals, opportunities arise to expand our understanding of issues and refine how we talk about them. But by going it alone, we opt out of those chances to get even just a little bit better.
Instead, go find a tribe that works on issues important to you. Find a trade association, support a non-profit, join your local civic organizations like the Rotary. Do put yourself out there and join a team. Find the group that can challenge you and keep you motivated to keep showing up for what’s most important to you.
Next up, don’t put your hope in someone else to lead. Just yesterday I fielded a question after a speech: “how do we get better people to run for office?” I’m not sure the crowd liked my response – I told them we can’t.
It’s a free will thing. Not all politicians are bad. Not all successful people want to live with a public profile. Both of those things can be, and are, true at the same time. We cannot expect flawed human beings to constantly live up to each of our individual ideals. Instead we can live up to our end of the bargain in public life. We can own our responsibility to improve how we participate.
In 2023, do the work and own your cause. Whether it’s talking to others about the tough subjects, or actually lobbying an elected official about a bill, each of us can own showing up more responsibly in the public discourse. But that requires us assuming our role in the process. We have to become better storytellers, better relationship builders, and most importantly more consistent participants. From my point of view, in 2023 and beyond, it’s simply not good enough to blame politicians anymore. We have to recognize our reflection in their behavior.
And that leads to the final recommendation I have for you. If you really want to maintain your sanity about politics in the new year, don’t be willing to excuse yourself from the process anymore.
You have a set of experiences in this life that are wholly your own. You’ve lived with the impacts of laws in a way unique to your experience. You are the proof of what works and what can work better. But are you willing to practice the most sincere form of ownership in our public life by showing up to share those experiences in a productive way?
In 2023 and beyond, I want to challenge you to stop doubting the importance of your lived experience. Your story can be incredibly powerful. When you use it to inform decision-makers, you have a real opening to changing opinions and winning champions to your cause. Practice moving away from the sterile world of data and statistics and move toward storytelling. You’ll tap into a much more natural way of relating to people. You may even stumble onto a bit of humanity in an inhumane arena.
And ultimately, that’s the secret. If you want to be engaged in the causes that matter most to you, you have to find ways for that advocacy work to be sustainable. It has to add value back into your life, and the process itself needs to mean something to you. That begins and ends with how we – individually – decide to opt in or out of the work. It centers on our willingness to put ourselves out there, to partner with others, to accept ownership and to tell our stories.
Do that. I’m not saying you’ll always win. But that mentality will help you stay in the fight.
Part of the Possible 