Every week I meet people who are uncomfortable with something in their community. Most will do nothing about it (except whinge), some will get started and dip out when it gets too hard and others I watch in great delight as inch by inch, step by step they forge a pathway forward drowning out the noise, putting down their head and pushing ahead.
The noise is real. When you are a changemaker, or trying to be it comes at you LOUD and often.
It starts with the naysayers in your community, some may even be friends and family who are wanting to ‘protect you’ (and there is no doubt their motives are good). It moves on to the bills you have to pay, your domestic responsibilities right through to what seems logical in the world.
Change is an uncomfortable space for many and if you find yourself leading change no matter how big or small it’s easy to get bogged down in the little tasks and forget to take a look at your overall potency in creating the change you seek to make.
Whether you’re leading on purpose or accidentally found yourself in this role your ability to create change will be very aligned to your ability to be potent in your purpose.
Your potency isn’t just about being liked.
While there is no doubt a charismatic person will attract an audience that attention will be short lived without the stickability, vision, drive and capability that makes someone potent. And a potent person is magnetic, everyone wants a chunk.
Many could be change leaders flip-flop from one passion project to the next barely taking time to gasp for breath as they start spruiking the next thing they are gunna change. And this is understandable because there are many things that need to be changed and the pain in our communities is very real. Sometimes these folks strike it lucky (or strategically) finding a catch all to sit a swag of things that require changing within. But, more often it would seem, they run out of puff particularly when they aren’t supported by a big organisational machine.
Change doesn’t happen overnight and understanding this is perhaps the most important thing about being a changemaker.
Almost two years ago now I left a very comfortable life to pursue what I now know to be potency in my work.
And I hear the noise around me all the time.
It tells me to get a job, to be more realistic, to stop chasing rainbows.
But you know what? Whether you have a spiritual practice or not there is truth in the statement what you focus on you get.
And frankly, I’m really too tired of flip-flopping about change. I’m reminded of this when I see the same people in my community having the same problems they had decades ago, or worse it’s their grandchildren experiencing the same things.
Besides, I have 30 years of skills in my kit and it’s time to drill down not spiral out.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it takes to be potent, here’s my take:
Connect to purpose
When you know precisely what you are trying to achieve and stay connected to that, tough days (which will come) are easier. Why? Because you know what you need to do even if it defies logic, looks like, feels and is hard work and sometimes even (and especially) when you’re told that’s not your role. You’ll need to set reminders about this as you get stuck into day to day tasks it will become hard to remember why you started.
Know when you’re chasing shiny things
Oh! There are so many beautiful, shiny things to chase and sometimes they are almost irresistible. A good place to start when considering diving down a rabbit hole of some kind is literally to ask yourself – “is this a shiny thing?” A few years ago I was considering running in the State election. Logically it stacked up and I had some strong support to move forward. I asked myself if it was a shiny thing and as I really wrestled with the question I noticed it was my ego that liked the idea of winning and I didn’t actually believe it was the right platform for me to create change. Yep, I could have made it work. But it would have also given me 1,000 new hurdles to jump across before I could actually fulfil my purpose.
Hang around good people
Not everyone supports what I want to do in the world and sometimes, if I let it that really gets me down. As it’s said, the quality of your life is defined by the five people you spend most of your time with. So choose well.
Focus your energy
Even the most energetic person only has so much in their tank. Focus on the things that build your potency and that of your purpose. Anything else can happen in good time. It’s so easy to get tangled up in the need to do everything, to have everything, to experience it all NOW. But it takes time to brew a good stew. If anything I’m learning as I grow older that pushing does very little except expend energy. The things that are meant to happen just do.
Have a plan
Whether it’s a formal business or strategic plan, a vision board or a mental mud map some form of plan will enable you to inspire others and thereby build on the potency of your journey. Your plan will also guide you through when things get hard. Yes, things change and you may need to refocus your strategies, but don’t throw the plan out – find a way to keep it alive.
Share the true story
Too many change projects gloss over the tough bits and bump up the success. There is a lot to be learned through failure, flearning if you will. I’ve had a lot of failed experiences as a changemaker and I’m only too happy to share them. Why? Because it’s how we collectively learn and over time actually create change.
Just keep doing
The fuel of newness makes getting started easy however as things start to settle, embed it’s so easy to get distracted. There is only so long you can throw things on a wall and see if they stick before you give up. Sometimes you just need a bit of blu-tak to hold something on the wall just a little longer to see if it really is the right pathway or not. Remember, change doesn’t always happen quickly and you may need to persevere with some strategies to give them time to work.
Look after yourself first
OK, I’m going to note up front that I’m good at preaching this, not so great at doing it. Two months ago I did a ten-day detox in Thailand. Ten whole days to rebalance my system, try out some new practices and reset. I loved the experience, even the seven days of fasting. I loved it because in a non-judgie environment I experienced what it feels like to be healthy and I realised just how lucky I am to have relatively good health. Back in the real world I haven’t kept up everything I learned but there is no doubt what I have kept is helping, and the seeds are planted for my healthier future.
It’s not only about physical health, since the retreat I’ve also noticed I’m more gentle with myself in my work load, in knowing when I need some quiet time and I make space for it. I guess I know myself just a little better now.
Reflecting
Becoming potent in what you do is a practice, not a position and cultivating it also takes reflection. I reflect as I write and talk things out, perhaps your way is thinking or feeling into where you’re at. Whatever mode you choose make the time.
Why do I care?
Hi, I’m Kerry Grace. I’m a seventh generation regional Australian and have worked in community and economic development in regional Australian communities since 2004. In this time I’ve seen too many programs, initiatives and great ideas tank because the funding or the energy ran out. And I’m part of that clutter. The problem with this isn’t only that our problems don’t get solved – it’s that our communities lose hope as they forget how to do and wait for the next person to come along and cast a lifeline. It’s one thing to care, in theory about the people who are suffering in these communities. It’s another to see them, and generations following fall foul to the same avoidable ailments.
In 2023 I departed the system as I knew it and started an event called Social Impact in the Regions with the goal of building the strengths of the people who are doing the strategic and front-end work in our regions. In 2024 this was amplified through the work of Ready Communities with my co-founder, Dr. Chad Renando.
In 2025 I will publish my first book, Spiraling Up. This book is a call to action and guide for the accidental leaders who are called to serve their regional community. The book explores three simple steps; understand what matters, come together and play with possibility.
For more information and to get in touch further information can be found here www.kerrygrace.com.au
