Nonprofit leaders are a passionate spark in our community.

They've dedicated their lives to solving the most critical problems we face and raising the money needed to accomplish a big vision.

But sometimes what starts as a spark turns into wildfires. 🔥 😬

And they feel like they're the only ones who can put them out.

We become firefighters.

Always looking for the next urgent email, the next problem, the next demand. No time for coffee with a potential donor (let alone a friend). No margin to learn a new strategy. No day off.

When we don't have time to be healthy or to develop healthy work habits, we suffer. And our cause suffers too.

This is survival mode. Are you there right now?

From Fixed to Growing

Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford, draws a hard line between two kinds of thinking.

"In a fixed mindset," she says, "people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success without effort. But in a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and resilience that is essential for great accomplishment."

I believe nonprofit leaders are especially prone to a fixed mindset in areas where they're uncomfortable or not naturally strong.

Fundraising, for instance.

I Absolutely Hated Fundraising at First

When I had my first role in fundraising, I absolutely hated it.

I feared rejection. I feared failure. I had no idea how I was going to hit the ambitious goals leadership had set for me.

On top of that, I had a team to lead, people problems to deal with, emails piling up every moment, and meetings all day every day.

I felt completely overwhelmed. So I froze.

Not visibly. I looked busy. Frantically busy, actually. And yet I avoided the hardest, most important work. Which in that moment was fundraising.

I stayed in survival mode for a while. But not forever.

I wasn't in it alone. I had expert fundraisers around me who I learned from. I believed with everything in me that fundraising was impactful and that inviting people into a greater story through their giving was a really good thing.

So I learned. And I grew. Over a decade, I became an expert fundraiser and have now helped raise over $100 million.

A big help for me was the team that surrounded me. That's why goodmakerU exists to give goodmakers a coach and surround them with community.

Everyday I get to see nonprofit leaders shift from avoidant to accountable, becoming confident fundraisers who are crushing it for their mission.

What Survival Mode Actually Costs You

Going into survival mode is a great strategy when you need to get things done.

But staying there forever doesn't work.

If you never shift out of it, you can't:

• try new things or risk failure
• be creative or innovate
• invest in relationships
• invest in yourself
• love others well
• stop and learn
• rest

No wonder the turnover rates in the nonprofit sector are so high.

Worst part is, you think you're serving the mission by sacrificing yourself. But in the end the mission suffers too.

You can't survive in survival mode forever.

Three Steps to Start Shifting Out

Three steps to start shifting out of survival mode.

1. Notice it.

If you feel anxious. If you feel like you can't stop working. If it all feels like it depends on you. Just notice it. Recognize it for what it is.

2. Evaluate it.

Ask yourself: Why do I feel this way? Do I really need to be in survival mode right now? What am I afraid will happen if I stop or slow down?

And what might happen if I don't?

Write those down. Talk to someone about them.

3. Prove it wrong.

Make an intentional choice that shows your body and your mind that you are safe. Then put it on your calendar. It could be as simple as a breathing exercise or as big as hiring an assistant, both are great ideas by the way.

Maybe it's just a walk around the block?

As you take these steps, you'll feel yourself releasing survival mode and moving toward a sustainable healthy pace.

(I'm still learning this myself... might go take a walk right now actually).