Ellenore's note
And then the smoke came: The importance of resilience and perseverance
The last weeks have brought new challenges. Wildfires in our state - as well as others across the West - have filled the sky with smoke and made our air quality suddenly the worst in the world, when the opposite is typically true. I found myself adding air quality checks to my to do list and wearing a mask during my single, daily walk outdoors. I felt trapped and a bit claustrophobic by these additional restrictions added to those brought about by COVID-19.
With so much else already going on in the greater world as well as my own life, it seemed almost too much to handle. I was giving a first-time virtual workshop on strategic negotiation to a group of executives at California State University. I wanted it to go perfectly, but I found it super challenging to try to manage both the revised content, a different format, and the new technical responsibilities that came when doing this from afar. The OHBD team was working on completing our last few #ReadySetGoBooks in order to reach a publishing milestone of 100 individual titles and planning a PR celebration to help raise critical awareness which is all exciting but it presents new challenges without clear guidelines on what to do and when. The US withdrew key support from Ethiopia because of a dispute just as we were waiting for word from the US Embassy on the STEAM training proposal we had painstakingly produced after weeks of work. Months after we had expected a response there was still no word. I learned my remaining uncle in the United States had passed away after a long illness. To avoid paralysis, I forced myself to focus on the immediate next steps I needed to complete; keeping it simple and allowing me to maintain a focus.
Throughout this experience I was reminded how success is very often due to resilience and perseverance in the face of challenges and obstacles. A member of the OHBD team on the US Embassy project also mentioned the importance of patience in the work we are doing in Ethiopia. Looking at these two words' definitions helped me see their foundational role in achievement so much more clearly. I often encourage Leyla, who has been a steady, smiling model of versatility despite all these changes (here starting her first day of virtual sixth grade), to look up definitions rather than just ask: “What does it mean?” But like many advice givers, I often fail to do so myself. Yet every time I take the time to do so, I find it truly enlightening.
Resilience is defined as: “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.” In these challenging times, I feel like we are all being tested daily to grow and flex this capacity, as 2020 has provided many different and unique difficulties. We have global challenges like the novel coronavirus pandemic; our national US challenges like race relations, political differences in both Ethiopia and the US, and natural disasters like fires and hurricanes; and the hardships we all face in our day-to-day lives, which are personal to us or our families. I believe acknowledging even the smallest wins as worthy accomplishments against this backdrop is crucial.
Perseverance is defined as: “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” This one seems to be a regular requirement for me in the many roles across my life, as things always seem to take longer or face unexpected challenges. Doing things in Ethiopia seem to be a particular case-in-point. Nothing seems to follow the plans I originally make. Sometimes they take much longer and sometimes they go a completely different direction that can be just as good if I can let go of my original ideal and pivot quickly.
As I took a number of deep breaths virtually and physically recently, I moved forward a bit at a time. The workshop went quite well despite a few technical challenges and things not following the meticulous schedule I had practiced over and over and over. We heard from a long-time supporter that she wanted to move forward with a big important new project (more to come soon.) The US Embassy came back with positive feedback as well as a request to modify our proposal in very significant ways in a short time frame. We found some terrific contacts with experience to help us build out the PR campaign for our big 100 book celebration. Two of my sisters were able to attend my uncle’s service and send gifts from all of us. Step by step, things are moving forward and everything seems a bit more possible as the air also began to be more breathable again.
I realized that in addition to resilience and perseverance, we need hope to inspire action. The definition I like is for this word is “confident expectation.” As we all keep pressing forward, I have a confident expectation we will continue to make progress on our ambitious goals, even in this challenging new reality, as well as learn and even grow together. Doing this work with many wonderfully generous and talented people is a great balm for all that is tough in the world right now. Thank you all for your amazing support through your time, your talents. and your treasure.
-Ellenore
|
|
|
|
