Less Effort, More Change: Changemaking V2.0

Can we envision a future where change isn’t a battlefield?

The language of social and environmental transformation is often the language of conflict.

• We fight for the planet.

• We battle climate breakdown.

• We take a stand.

This framing has served a purpose. It rallies energy. It brings people together.

But it also keeps our nervous systems in a near-constant state of fight.

I have always felt that it should not take this type of negative energy to create positive change.

Yet for many years, I carried the same belief that many changemakers do; that caring meant struggling, that urgency equalled importance, that the greater the struggle, the greater the impact.

But what if the next evolution of changemaking looks different?

What if resilience is not the power to fight harder, but the capacity to lead more steadily?

When we let go of the idea that we must always push, persuade, or protest, we make space for a new kind of agency.

One grounded in calm clarity rather than constant effort.

• Adversarial framing triggers the stress response.

Language such as “fighting for” and “battling against” activates the sympathetic nervous system. It signals threat, keeping the body in a heightened state that can lead to fatigue and burnout.

• Resilience redefined.

Leadership research increasingly links sustainable impact to emotional regulation and the ability to act from composure rather than reactivity. Calm does not mean passive; it means effective.

• A shift in identity.

If activism has been about fighting, perhaps the next phase is about embodying the change — making peace with purpose. This reframes the question: not how can I fight for change, but how can I be the change with steadiness and integrity?

The updated and interactive Climate Persona Quiz will be landing next week!

So you can explore your relationship with identity and enhance your impact in a truly authentic way.