Run regularly to develop them — or, develop them to run regularly — My Dad is one of the most cautious people I know. One of the main pieces of advice he gave me was the “rule of limited trust.” That is to say — trusting others is fine. But whenever possible, verify information from another source. My Dad has also spent a…

How to ignite genuine concern for the world — Credits: Big thank-you to Thomas Pollak for helpful suggestions and resources, and to Teju Ravilochan for this inspiring article which informed the section about Siksika. Arguably, the biggest problem of our times is that we don’t care enough. …

Remember how we stepped up during COVID pandemic? — In the first half of 2020, many people claimed that “COVID was an opportunity.” With humans staying at home and wildlife recovering, we finally had the time to bake bread and reassess life priorities. Of course, that’s the privileged perspective. During the pandemic, it became clearer than ever that while…

The roots of self-help are in the struggle for social justice — Self-help can’t be one-size-fits-all advice. It must take personal and social context into account. That’s why it matters who wrote the self-help book you picked. Their context will dictate whether they understand yours. The problem is, the self-help industry today looks like its monopolized by authors of one narrow demographic…

Those in the helping professions can often experience PTSD-like symptoms; don’t miss the early warning signs — Disclaimer: I’m not a health professional. This article shouldn’t be treated as professional health advice and is for informational purposes only. Sitting in a room with three women twice my age, I realized: I couldn’t run this support group anymore. We were in the middle of a reflective listening exercise…

Changemakers come in all shapes and sizes — find out what type you are — When I start questioning my ability to make a difference, I remember this quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead The Civil Rights Movement began when Rosa Parks and a few…

An introduction to our community app for changemakers — Welcome to the CivLead Medium publication! We’re a mobile app, campaign, and a community of changemakers who want to grow into leaders. CivLead stands for “civic leadership” or “civic leader.” It describes both the mindset we want to encourage, and the group of people we want to serve. By “civic…

A 30-day challenge as a way to design a personal rite of passage — Yesterday, I completed my May running challenge. I decided to run daily for the whole month and haven’t missed a day. I covered 250k (~150 miles). I run for a total of 27 hours. I’m not saying all this to show off. I’m saying this because I experienced meaningful changes…

How to break free from your own head — Hello, it’s me, Marta, connecting with you from my abyss. I’m now at the stage of publishing obscure pieces about writing, because this is the easiest topic for me as I ease back into publishing on Medium again. There are drafts brewing in my editor about gender-neutral pronouns, the psychology…