Rethinking Barriers as Opportunities
Written by: Jodi Hocking, Founder and Executive Director of Return Strong
I have been really struggling to start writing this blog, which may seem odd to many of you since I always have something to say about everything in relation to the Nevada Department of Corrections and changing the prison system here.
I think my hesitation is that I want to talk to you about things much bigger than Nevada prisons, bigger than Nevada-and I really want to use this space so that we can grow and dream and build a movement that extends beyond Nevada, that challenges, educates and inspires. THAT is a huge undertaking and responsibility, and I may fail. No one may read it, or care about it and it might not move anyone to consider taking action, not just on prison reform but on whatever is important to you.
This morning I have been thinking about why we don’t do things? Why do so many of us profess to care deeply about things that we choose not to do anything about? I have come up with a few possible ideas because it is impossible for me to believe that we don’t actually care~
We do not know what to do, or where to start
Our lives are insanely complicated and finding time is overwhelming
Fear of failure
We are overly focused on the problems and barriers that we never see the opportunity.
First, remember you don’t have to do it all. You just have to choose to do something, instead of nothing. If you don’t know where to start, find someone who is, and ask for direction.
The second one is a little more complicated. First, I believe that we make time for what is important to us. People make time to fight for the things they care about when they begin to feel the impact of not fighting. When their anger or indignation is bigger than their fear.
Think about it….the person who has been overweight for decades and wanted to be healthy but never took the initiative to do anything until they had a heart attack, and now are the picture of health. They changed their entire lifestyle to survive and have the opportunity to keep living.
That applies to any area of our lives: relationships, finances, health, addictions, careers…the point where you become so angry about your situation that you can’t tolerate it anymore is the moment you begin to do something about it. The moment your vision shifts from the problem to the solution is the moment that your life changes.
That applies on a wider scale to our world, and the problems we see in it, no matter what that is: school shootings, gun control, lack of mental health treatment, the drug crisis, racial justice, policing, education- the issue isn’t the question here, it’s have you gotten to a point that doing nothing, is no longer an option?
For Return Strong, our vision started with Nevada prisons, because we were fed up with the inhumanity and problems we see impacting our loved ones and our anger spurred us to action. We were so angry, we didn’t think about “what if we fail?” At that point, failure isn’t even a thought. I worked for a woman who used to use an acronym for FAIL:
F-First
A-Attempt
I-In
L-Learning
That brings me to my last point, when we become overly focused on the problem and the barriers to changing whatever is it, instead of seeing the opportunity for solutions, you become blinded by the barriers.
So, for today, I am going to leave you with these three things.
Take one small step. Don’t jump in the deep end, just dab your toe in the water.
Stay focused on the opportunities that are in front of you.
Fail. Try again and fail better.
One Love & Solidarity,
Jodi
