High Expectations
I think it is pretty safe to say that most of us who go into nonprofit administration are high expectation kind of people. We go into nonprofit work because we care about the world we see around us - and believe it can be better. The best of us want to put ourselves out of business - because we want to have successfully addressed the issues that effect the individuals we hold so dearly in our hearts.
We care about human beings and we want them to reach their full potential. So we work to remove the barriers that get in the way. Many of us have committed our entire life to being of service; for many of us this is not a career choice as much as it is a calling.
At the Momentum Center, our high expectation is that we are creating a community where every person is fully visible and connected. We are tending to the needs of the most vulnerable in our community. And that is challenging work, difficult work, sometimes soul crushing work. But we keep doing it because we know how important it is. We know the value of the lives we touch.
Because people are not issues. They are real life human beings, and day by day many of them are feeling more threatened and marginalized by an atmosphere of fear and judgement that leaves no room for conversation, debate, or compromise.
We are creating a community where every person is fully visible and connected. It's a pretty tall order and we don't always get it right. We can unintentionally alienate people. We have our own blind spots. We are far from perfect. But that means it is more important than ever to set our sights upon our high expectations, to hold ourselves to our values, and to invite others to join us in this audacious mission.
In his TED Talk, the Grammy nominated performer Cordae offers suggestions we can all take to heart as he explains How a "Hi Level" Mindset Helps You Realize Your Potential. The Hi Level mindset, he tells us, is not a recipe for perfection but a commitment to honoring your potential and what you have to offer the world. "Don't let your small failures make you lose sight of your bigger picture."
As an organization, we won't get everything right the first time, but we won't let small failures make us lose sight of our bigger picture. A picture that is big enough to include every person.
Namaste,
Barbara Lee VanHorssen, Experi-Mentor
