Some people are cause driven. They commit themselves to a cause, campaign for it and aim to achieve concrete results. Such an approach can have pluses and minus for both themselves and other people.
Imagine that someone wants to take this approach. Let’s explore how they may translate it into action.
Cause
Different people are motivated to pursue different causes for different reasons. These include the following approaches
Personal Cause
Some people follow a cause for personal reasons. They or their loved ones may have experienced an illness, injustice or challenging circumstances. They may then aim to help people who face similar situations.
Philosophical Cause
Some people follow a cause for philosophical reasons. They may believe in a spiritual path, principles or a moral code. They translate their beliefs into action by focusing on specific issues that embody their philosophy.
Political Cause
Some people follow a cause that, in the broadest sense, may have a political perspective. They may promote certain views regarding how people can be encouraged or allowed to live in a society.
Imagine that a person has found a cause they want to pursue. They may then move on to the next stage.
Campaigning
Different people choose to campaign for a cause in different ways. Let’s explore some of these approaches.
Some people commit to practical action. They aim to act as positive models and take practical steps to follow their cause in their own lives or work.
A person who cares about helping children with dyslexia, for example, may run seminars that about how to build on the strengths of such children. They may also provide a web site and other tools on this theme.
Some people may focus on communication when campaigning. They may publish material or appear in the media to communicate their key messages to a specific audience.
Some do this in positive and professional ways. Some communicate in ways that play on fear or involve direct action that disrupts people’s lives. They do this to draw attention to their cause.
Concrete Results
People who pursue a cause often want to raise other people’s consciousness about the issues. They also want to achieve successes and see their desired concrete results.
Those that achieve their aims sometimes follow the principles most likely to produce success. They build on what they can control and take the following steps.
They focus on a specific issue, set an achievable goal and follow the strategies most like to achieve success;
They show people the benefits of achieving the goals and the practical ways to achieve success;
They focus on the people who are most likely to be open to the ideas, get positive results and publicise these by producing success stories.
Some people recognise that, whilst they can get some wins, they realise it may also be a lifetime journey. They know it can take a long time to produce long lasting change or sustainable success.
People who pursue a cause can experience both pluses and minuses. Some learn how to build on the pluses and manage the minuses.
The pluses may include having a sense of purpose, feeling alive and sometimes achieving positive results. The minuses may include neglecting other areas of life – such as their loved ones – and not achieving the desired results.
Some people continue to follow their chosen cause. Some choose to pursue another cause. Some move on to focusing on other areas of their personal or professional lives.
Let’s return to your own life and work. Looking ahead, can you think of a situation where you may want to follow some elements of the cause approach?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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