How to Keep Going When Things Get Hard | Bryan Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, shares his non-negotiables for perseverance, including proximity, music, and mindfulness. He discusses managing fear and anger, and cultivating hope and faith in challenging circumstances.
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
Introduction to Bryan Stevenson and Perseverance
The Non-Negotiable of Proximity in Justice Work
Fueling Ideas with Conviction and Emotion
The Sustaining Power of Music and Exercise
Proximity as Action: Connecting to Those We Serve
Transformative Power of Hearing Others' Stories
The Return on Compassion and Kindness
Hope as an Antidote to Fear and Anger
Creating Safe Environments for Truth and Healing
Practicing Hopefulness to Overcome Personal Rage
Articulating Aspirations to Counter Polarization
Healing Trauma Through Safety and Affirmation
The Role of Faith and Spiritual Life in Perseverance
Service as a Blessing, Not a Burden
Ways to Support the Equal Justice Initiative
6 Key Concepts
Proximity
The necessity of being close to the people, communities, and places where challenges manifest to effectively understand, strategize, and make a difference, particularly in justice work. It's about direct engagement rather than abstraction.
Conviction in the Heart
The idea that intellectual understanding and strategic thinking (ideas in the mind) must be fueled by deep emotional commitment and belief (conviction in the heart) to sustain effort, especially when working on unprecedented or difficult goals.
Wise Selfishness
A concept suggesting that acting with kindness and compassion towards others is ultimately a form of self-interest, as it leads to personal happiness, hope, and restorative feelings.
Hope as a Superpower
The belief that hope is a fundamental strength needed to persevere, especially in the face of injustice and despair. It involves being willing to believe in things not yet seen and acts as a powerful antidote to fear and anger.
Practicing Hopefulness
A deliberate and ongoing effort to cultivate hope, commitment, and a vision of something better, even when confronted with anger, vitriol, or seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It's like a therapy that builds resolve.
Service as a Blessing
The perspective that helping others and meeting their needs should not be viewed as an obligation or burden, but rather as a source of personal reward, peace, healing, and opportunity for the giver.
7 Questions Answered
He relies on proximity to the people he serves, fueling his ideas with conviction from his heart, and cultivating hard-nosed, reality-based versions of hope and faith.
Proximity means being close to the people, communities, and places where challenges manifest. It's crucial for gaining deep understanding, developing effective strategies, and maintaining motivation by connecting emotionally to the impact of one's work.
It involves taking action to create genuine connection with people they care about or wish to serve, such as volunteering, investing in complicated relationships, or taking time for affirming but difficult tasks. It's about choosing to engage rather than isolating oneself.
He counters these emotions by practicing hopefulness, commitment, and a vision of something better. He consciously works to overcome hate and project a desire for even those acting in ugly ways to reach a better place, believing in the power of compassion and kindness.
Hope is presented as a 'superpower' and the antidote to fear and anger. It allows individuals to believe in things they haven't seen, practice commitment, and envision a better future, which is essential for making a difference and personal well-being.
A spiritual life allows one to transcend day-to-day realities and empirical challenges, providing sustenance and inspiration. For Bryan, it's rooted in the belief that something better is possible, even when unseen, and is often expressed through community and action.
Service, when approached with the intention of creating relief, peace, opportunity, and healing for others, can be a profound source of personal reward and blessing. It's not a zero-sum game but rather an act that provides something valuable back to the giver.
17 Actionable Insights
1. Cultivate Proximity & Connection
Be proximate to the people, communities, and places where challenges manifest themselves to truly understand and make a difference. This means actively doing something that creates genuine connection, rather than just passive awareness.
2. Fuel Ideas with Heartfelt Conviction
Ensure that your ideas and strategic thinking are deeply fueled by conviction in your heart. Be mindful of your feelings and allow them to move you, especially when pursuing goals without clear precedents or formulas.
3. Cultivate Hope as Superpower
Embrace hope as a non-negotiable ‘superpower’ and believe in things you haven’t seen, as hopelessness is the enemy of justice and personal strength. Practice hopefulness and commitment as a form of therapy and resolve.
4. Challenge Fear and Anger
Actively challenge and push back against narratives and feelings of fear and anger, as they are essential ingredients of injustice and oppression and prevent good decision-making. Consciously practice overcoming hate, rage, and anger like a skill.
5. Practice Kindness and Compassion
Engage in acts of kindness, compassion, and generosity, understanding that these require a relationship with others and offer a powerful return, reorienting you and yielding hope. Wish safety even upon those you perceive as difficult.
6. Affirm Humanity & Dignity
Actively affirm the humanity and dignity of others, especially those who are struggling or have ‘fallen down,’ by wrapping your arms around them and expressing genuine connection, as this gesture has underestimated power.
7. Create Safe Environments
Create safe environments in interactions and communities, as this is crucial for enabling open communication, understanding, and collaborative problem-solving, especially when addressing difficult truths.
8. Express Love and Aspirations
Overcome resistance to expressing what you like, love, and appreciate, especially in conflict situations. Regularly articulate your highest aspirations and commitment to a better future for everyone, as this builds positive neural pathways.
9. Believe in More Than Worst
Adopt the belief that individuals are more than the worst thing they have ever done, extending this understanding to both those you support and those who oppose you, fostering a desire for their freedom from negativity.
10. Engage in Sustaining Creative Habits
Maintain consistent habits of exercise and creative expression, such as playing music, to find comfort, process emotions, and cultivate a sense of hope, possibility, and agency, especially when overwhelmed. If possible, create music yourself.
11. Seek and Create Beauty
Actively seek out and create beauty in your life, as it is affirming, inspiring, and energizing, helping to manage overwhelming emotions and provide a sense of completeness.
12. Cultivate a Spiritual Life
Cultivate a spiritual life to gain sustenance and transcend daily physical and empirical challenges, allowing for reflection on what is necessary even if not yet seen.
13. Embrace Service as Blessing
Reframe service to others not as a burden or obligation, but as a blessing and a source of profound personal reward and fulfillment, recognizing the power of helping others.
14. Commit to Beliefs & Get Close
Commit to something you believe in that has value, purpose, and meaning, then reinforce it by actively getting close to the people or entities central to those beliefs, as this commitment will lead to positive change for all involved.
15. Expand Worldview for Others
Encourage and facilitate engagement with ideas, books, and a ‘bigger world’ for those in confined or despairing situations, as this helps counter hopelessness and trauma.
16. Actively Learn and Educate
Actively engage in learning and educating yourself about important issues to empower yourself as a better citizen and participant in positive change.
17. Get Involved, Support Organizations
Get involved and support organizations doing work that resonates with you, either locally or nationally, to make a difference, as there are many opportunities to contribute.
7 Key Quotes
I'm persuaded that the ideas in our mind have to be fueled by conviction in our heart.
Bryan Stevenson
Sometimes I think the most important thing we can do to help people who have fallen down, people who have lost their way, people who have been overwhelmed, people who have been traumatized, is wrap our arms around them and affirm their humanity and their dignity.
Bryan Stevenson
When I heard that man sing, everything changed for me. That was the moment that I knew I wanted to help condemned people get to higher ground. But more than that, I realized that my journey to higher ground was tied to his.
Bryan Stevenson
Hopelessness is the enemy of justice and injustice prevails where hopelessness persists.
Bryan Stevenson
Fear and anger are the essential ingredients of injustice and oppression.
Bryan Stevenson
I believe that we are all more than the worst thing we've ever done.
Bryan Stevenson
I genuinely believe that there's something better waiting for us. There's something that feels more like freedom, more like equality, more like justice. And I want us all to get there, including those who I see as resisting and pushing back and obstructing that journey.
Bryan Stevenson