If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the crises in the world clamoring for your time, attention, and resources, you’re not alone. I want to share a practical, free, 20-minute, self-guided social impact exercise adapted from research-based resources I designed with my team the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. It will help you stay (or get) grounded, focus your efforts, and navigate the complex waves of emotion, inspiration, exhaustion, despair, and determination so many are feeling.

Cause fatigue and heartbreak is real, especially in this chaotic era when so many people, communities of care, natural resources, and social institutions are under attack. I hope this exercise helps sustain you in upholding the people, places, and values you care about. It certainly has done so for me and hundreds of people I’ve taught it to, including nonprofit leaders, donors, activists, individuals, families, and concerned citizens around the world.

About the Exercise

This 20-minute activity walks you through 7 reflective steps to identify your core values and prioritize causes. You’ll create a written draft “focus statement”— a personal North Star to guide your giving, volunteering, or advocacy. It can help:

• Manage overwhelm
• Clarify for yourself (and others) why you are engaged in the causes you care deeply about
• Identify what aspects of a big, complex issue you want to work on
• Prioritize how to best use your unique skills and assets

• You’ll need: Pen, Paper, a Timer, and about 20-30 Minutes (time suggestions are approximate, some folks prefer to take longer)
• Solo or groups: You can do this alone or with family, friends, and colleagues. One person I taught it to did it on a first date! Though I usually facilitate this process in a live zoom call or in person, I want it to be out there in the world so y’all don’t have to wait on me.
• Format: It is a PDF file in a slide presentation format, and you can download the document here and below.

My Invitation

Grab a beverage, a notebook, and a few quiet minutes. Let the questions guide you, and see what emerges. In my experience, people are often surprised by the clarity —and more sustainable sense of energy— that comes from simply putting pen to paper. 

Your focus statement will help you know what to say yes to, and what to say no to. Saying “no” to getting involved on an important issue can be really hard — but remember, no one person or organization can do it all. If you try to get involved in every single cause that crosses your radar you’ll be on the fast track to burn out. It’s important to be in action and in community when you can, but also take moments of rest and recharge. Trust that you are one shining star in a vast dark sky full of other constellations beyond what you can see, filled with other passionate, well-meaning people who are taking the lead on the other issues that feel important (and ARE important) but maybe are not at the top of your list at this time.

Some of you may have done exercises like this before, but haven’t done it lately. I recommend doing this at least once or twice a year (it’s a great New Year’s Eve exercise), or whenever you’re feeling scattered and pulled in 100 different directions. Why do it more than once? Because the world is always shifting around us, and our own personal assets, passions, and circumstances may also change.

Then What?

When you’re done, tape your focus statement up on your wall, put a copy in your wallet, share it with friends and family, and use it as the basis to find like-minded folks. The more people you share it with, the more useful it becomes.

For additional inspiration, try using it with an AI prompt like this:

“Draft a [3-month, 6-month, or 1 year] action plan for a [describe your demographic/circumstances] with [X amount of hours per month, Y amount of money, and/or Z special skills] to donate to a cause, who is concerned about the issues listed in the focus statement below. As part of the action plan, create a timeline with suggested activities, and list the websites, mission statements, program areas, and key projects for at least 10 organizations or community groups working on these issues, located in [type your regional focus if you have one — local, national, or global]. Also list impactful volunteer and advocacy activities based on the aforementioned time, money, and skills. Focus statement is as follows: [insert your focus statement].”

Thank You…

for caring, for taking time to be thoughtful, and for being at work on bettering yourself and the world. We need you, and we need each other. May good things come of our collective efforts.

Note: This resource is open source so feel free to adapt it. Stanford just asks that you give them a shout out if you use it publicly, and the suggested language for that is on the final slide.

For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out. ― James Baldwin