Soft Skills

Activists are aware of a problem and try to solve it. Problem solving needs creativity. When we hear the word “creativity” we usually think of artists doing their own things. But creativity is not always about art. It is about creating new things and finding new solutions by following alternative paths and approaches. 

Do you think you are not creative at all? Never told a detailed lie about why you couldn’t do your homework? Never tried to persuade your parents with crazy arguments that cake is really healthy for you? Never attempted to repair something without the right materials? You will see that creativity is a skill you can develop by using it. 

When we are planning an action, creativity is our best friend. Can we think about an unusual idea to draw attention to our topic? Some university students, for example, drenched themselves with water and laid motionless on the ground to create awareness for all the drowned refugees and to protest against the EU migration policy.  

Maybe we can also use our artistic skills to convince people! 

And not to be forgotten: Creativity needs flexibility! Sometimes there are changes in the local/global situation and we have to adapt. During the Corona crisis it was no longer possible to do a protest action on the street – time for social media action! When we are dealing with different target groups – our creativity (and also our empathy) can help us to adapt our communication. It makes a difference if we want to approach politicians to make them change something or if we want to create a workshop for a group of students. 

If things don’t work out, we have to adapt, and adaptability needs creativity too! So you see, creativity is the key! We are humans and humans are meant to be creators. And by the way: Creativity is like chocolate – it makes us happy.

When we have to find a way out of a mess, creativity helps us to stay resilient and can improve our mental health. 

In activism it’s important that we are dedicated to our path. For this, we need perseverance. Not everything will work out the way we want. Some things will take more time than expected or won’t work out at all. 

Impressive isn’t it? So now you may think: all these smart sentences are nice… but how exactly can I gain perseverance? What can help me concretely not to give up and to deal with frustration?

This also works if someone criticizes you. If you are aware of your talents and also of your weak points, you can take criticism with more serenity. Most of all, it is important what you think about yourself!

As you have seen in the triangle of activism: knowledge influences our feelings and our behaviour. If I know me and my motivation, this will empower my feeling of trust in myself and also my self-confidence. In activism we need to be self-confident if we want to convince others. As you can see, self-confidence is no magic trick, it’s a journey. You can gain it during the processes of reflection and self-consciousness.
Activism will empower you as a person and you will gain self-efficiency in return. If you start with activism and see that you create an impact with it you get the feeling that you can make a difference. This is a wonderful feeling. It means that you have trust in yourself, that you can make it.

Let’s not just focus on the problems but on the good things so that we have the energy and willingness to move forward. There are so many problems to deal with but we can’t do everything. That’s why we choose to focus on that field where we can have an impact, and on all the small steps and good things that happen everywhere around the world.

Activists are never alone and we need hope for change. We aren’t stuck in the problem, frustrated and overwhelmed by all the horrible things that are happening around the world. And when you feel that way, start to act! Let the frustration be your fuel. I can tell you by my personal experience, you will feel less helpless if you start with activism. For us activists, the glass is never half empty but half full. Our world will not be extinguished by climate change because we will prevent this! 

“Hope can never be passive, it has to be active. Otherwise it is false hope.”

Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate activist

Focusing on the good things is a decision. As many experienced activists can assure you, you will feel less helpless if you start with activism.

It’s not about lying to ourselves, it’s about the perspective that encourages or demotivates us. People who believe that change is possible are becoming active! And we are many!  

In activism we are partners in crime. We are inclusive and we don’t have hierarchies. We only have different experiences, diverse expertise and skills. This is what we call “peer-to-peer attitude” (read more about peer to peer approach in Group). Every one of us is important and valuable. We learn from each other and exchange our experiences. Our relationship and communication is balanced and reciprocal: talking and listening, giving and receiving, respecting and being respected.

That sounds like a dream, yes? But “dreams are my reality” (you know that song from the 80’s? Nevermind…)

Open communication will improve our discussions and our team work. We don’t always have to agree with each other but we can respect the person, whatever the disagreement between us, because we are peers in activism and we believe in the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

This attitude of appreciation should guide us in our communication and we can practise it so that it becomes our “new daily life”.

Activism is challenging and problems can be overwhelming sometimes. We need patience and perseverance because real change needs time. 

Let’s have a constructive attitude in our activism: if we can’t change the whole world, we’ll start with our surroundings. If we can’t solve a problem today, we’ll try again tomorrow. If we can’t do it alone, we’ll ask for help. If this path doesn’t work, we’ll try a different one.

Staying resilient also means focusing on the good things.

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  

By Elbert Hubbard, US-american writer

Especially when problems seem to be too big to solve, we can use negative emotions, like the feeling of helplessness, and change them into something positive, like standing up from the couch and taking action. 

Or we can start with something small, using a step-by-step strategy. Then we can prove our self-efficiency and this helps us also to improve our well-being. 

In all your activism, always take care of yourself. The sailor says: “One hand for the boat and one for me”. Our (mental) health is important and we have to balance our energy. We won’t help anyone nor anything if our battery is empty. (Read more about self care in Motivation.) 

And remember: never forget to enjoy what you are doing. Always try to do what you like. If you like to make films, you can create a clip on your topic; if you like working with children and young people, offer workshops for these target groups; and if you are an organisational talent, prepare a fundraising campaign.

Whatever you do, respect your personal limits and boundaries. And find a balance between self-care and community-care. 

If you are active, you will make mistakes. BUT you are not making the worst mistake which is doing nothing. Isn’t that great? It’s like writing an exam that you cannot not pass!

Certain mistakes can happen. For example, we might say something wrong and hurt someone, or a bad joke may cause a conflict, or we could fail with our task. And sometimes a well intended action backfires in an unforeseen way and has the opposite effect.

Let’s be honest with ourselves and with others – in a gentle way. Personal growth is developed through try and error. So be kind with yourself (and your mistakes) and with other people (and their mistakes). 

Often in the education of children, when they make a mistake, we force them to apologise. Can you remember? Did you also hate it? It felt awful and shameful and sometimes we didn’t see the point, right? But do you know that in the Japanese culture of the Samurai, to apologise is one of the most important and admired abilities? So let’s all be a bit more Samurai! Let’s apologise for our mistakes and be generous with others. 

At the end of the day we are all only human.