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Dear friends,
Sending strength and solidarity to you in this time of upheaval. In the face of such broad-scale dismantling of our values and institutions, I have been pondering how to effectively resist. I do think the most important form of resistance is to carry on our work in the face of these existential threats, but I want to do more. Like many of you, I have been signing petitions and calling my representatives and making donations and showing up at protests. Taking these actions has not brought me the same energy that it did in the past. The problems are so overwhelming that taking any action at all can feel futile. Is this the most effective way for me to stand up for my values?
When I am not sure in which direction to move, I find the Japanese concept of ikigai, or “life purpose” to be useful. There is controversy about how to apply this idea to our society and individual lives, and I hope my version of this widely-used diagram is helpful.
I recently decided to apply ikigai to my own efforts at resistance. One way to apply this idea is to treat each circle as a question to answer based on your values. It does not have to be comprehensive; instead, it must ring true for you. Keeping my mind my dilemma about where to put my energy, here are my thoughts:
What the world needs: Science
What I love: Lifting up early-career colleagues. Also science.
What I am good at: Mentoring. Also science.
What I can be paid for: **hopefully** mentoring and -wait for it- science!
So there’s clearly a theme in my answers, right!? I found my “resistance ikigai.” Science matters, and we do better science and improve public health more quickly and effectively when our teams and our work reflect our diverse society. Based on these thoughts, I plan to focus my efforts over the next four years on keeping as many early-career scientists in academia as possible. This realization has helped me get past my doomscrolling towards concrete action.
What is your resistance ikigai? Can you home in on one piece of the many pressing issues we are facing and make a discrete contribution? Together we can get through this. I would love to hear your ideas- they always inspire me. Please share widely, as usual, and let others know they can sign up here.
Warmly,
Urmimala