You care deeply about your work. You are dedicated to, and passionate about a higher calling than profit. So you should feel good about work that makes the world a better place, right?
I certainly felt a sense of great purpose when I started my career in the non-profit sector working for a humanitarian organisation during the war in Bosnia in 1994. Since then I have dedicated my life to causes I am deeply passionate about – the promotion of justice, peace, equality, humanitarian action and human rights.
I just assumed it was part of the non-profit deal to prioritise a cause over everything else in my life.
But by 2006 after a dangerous and traumatic mission to Afghanistan, I was quite honestly falling apart. Not only had I lost sight of how my work was having an impact but I was severely burnt out. It was the darkest period of my life and it led me to examine this question: What is really the greatest cause in this life?
It took me many years, tears and hard work to find the answer. The altruistic and trauma-denying professional circles I moved in had brainwashed me into thinking it was selfish to prioritise my own health and wellbeing.
I had to learn the hard way that it is necessary to prioritise your own health and happiness over any other cause. Corny as it may sound, “You cannot help others unless you first help yourself.” If your proverbial cup has run dry, you cannot pour from it. Hell you might not even have the strength to pick it up.
So here’s my most important advice: Never get so caught up in the “greater cause” that you lose sight of your own needs. YOU are the greatest cause in this life. Support and donate to that cause each and every day.
