The greatest opportunity: a summons for more in our not-for-profits

The Pandemic has been a great global summons. A call. In the middle of the night to awake. To something new.

What are you talking about?

Yes, it has. I know, I know.

You are probably saying it has been a grand inconvenience, even a worry. At times, you may have been equally scared and bored all at the same moment. Our lives, as we know them, have all been altered. For moments in time, it feels like we have been suspended or perhaps even in that liminal space we call limbo.

But, have you ever thought to look at this moment as a fresh opportunity? A summons?

Let me explain.

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When life becomes too predictable, we become settled in our ways. You know that comfortable feeling. While we like that comfortable feeling, is there much growth there? 

This Pandemic has been a surprise. And, because of it, we have been stretched beyond our comfort zones. We have been stretched to places beyond ourselves and within our selves.

This is the moment of much more.

That is if we want to see it that way and grasp it.

How?

Well, organizations have been forced to do things in different ways. Services that once were provided in person are now being provided virtually.  Telehealth, online performances, fitness classes, training, etc.

Digital fundraising has taken a more prominent role. Donor relationship building has become ever more critical. Remote work has become the norm.

On and on and on. 

As they say, let me count how we have all been called to innovate and make massive shifts rather quickly in the past two months.

A massive amount of energy. A big hassle.

But has it all been really?

Or have you been called to get out of your comfort zone, stretch, and maybe even innovate positively for the sake of your clients and donors? 

We don’t like getting out of our comfort zones. It feels painful to do that.

Have you grown because of the Pandemic?

What will you take forward to better serve those under your care, both donors and clients? What will you do to meet your mission in new ways? When this is all said and done (and, yes, I do think that one day it will be), what will be that one thing that you were summoned to do differently. What new threshold did you grow too?

This moment is our opportunity to do more, to be more. To take what has worked into a new future. New service lines. New ways of operating. New processes. New systems. New types of relationships. 

Let us choose not to look at this time as a big inconvenience, but let us awake to the moment and all of the surprises that it holds. Let us not lay in limbo; let us grasp the growth that this moment affords.

Not everyone has or will head this call. And, unfortunately, complacency and unwillingness will see an inevitable decline for those.

There will be times that you will feel tempted to give up.  Moving forward into newness will be tedious at times, and you may want to go back to the old “easy” ways.  No, don’t do it.  Stay the course.  Keep the vision on course.

What can you do when you feel tempted to go back to “old ways?”

According to James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, he describes the law of “least effort.”  This law, when deciding between two similar options, people will naturally gravitate towards the option that requires the least amount of work. To create habits, you need to make them easy for you to execute.

We can extrapolate in that moving into newness is like creating a habit that is “easy” enough for us to embrace.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• What are the things that you want to keep doing or incorporating into your “old model?”
• What questions do you need to ask yourself in order to make this transition into newness possible?
• How will you ensure that you are successful?

If we take from Clear, he recommends by starting small and being intentional.

Let us all embrace this time as a moment. A moment where complacency was banished, and we were called to think, be, and do differently for our organizations and our missions.

Let us shed the “old ways” and move into our exponential growth.

How have you been surprised by this moment, and what will you take forward?

Photo by Andre Guerra on Unsplash

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