Social justice starts with you. Build your DEI muscle.

(Note: This post is specifically for people who want to be effective social justice warriors but aren't quite sure where or how to start.)

We want to DO:

To be a powerfully engaged, antiracist member of society, most of us need to step back (pause just for a moment) before we step in (understanding our positionality and purpose) to join the revolution.

Witnessing

• the continued degradation of human rights around the world and in our own backyards

• the trauma of lives lost to racialized violence and police brutality

• inequitable access to resources like healthcare and education

• the impact of food deserts

• the gutting results of gerrymandered districts that prevent representation in a nation that claims “equity and justice for all”

is mind numbing for all who are actively striving for collective justice and social good. The emotional toll and grievous societal losses for the collective is immediately secondary to the depth of turmoil embodied by those who live the emotional and physical impact of systemic injustice and oppression on a daily basis.

We need to PAUSE:

Ironically, the urgent need to pursue change through performative action slows the pace of societal transformation. A revolution is won with co-conspirators; no one wins alone. And checking boxes (performing virtue) does not sustain a revolution.

And so, despite the urgency, we must defer to the heavy lifting of foundational preparation. That begins with each of us taking stock of our current capacities to develop a personal action plan for understanding, learning, growth, and engagement that will sustain us for the journey ahead.

In our urgent push for action, we cannot skip the critical step of unlearning ways of thinking and doing that maintain inequities and perpetuate divisions. We must look inward and literally rewire how we build connections with others to be effective agents of change.

So that we can BUILD:

Building a powerful future for us collectively begins with understanding what makes us who we are. This allows us to move beyond our own individualism and find the power of the collective.

If you’re new to the personal reflection and growth essential to sustain a revolution, and if you’ve made the commitment to be part of a reimagined society, it's time to start training your DEI muscle. It's more straightforward than you might imagine.

Develop your DEI muscle in the same way you think about maintaining your personal health.

You have to be “all in” and commit to the lifestyle and the practice that builds success.

• DEI is not a performance that you can turn on and off to do well. Commitment means wanting to engage in the process of rewiring your brain so that it becomes second nature to “pause,” engage with “positional” awareness, and ensure that you understand the “purpose” of your actions and engagement. (Yes, that's a shout out to the 3P's: pause, positionality, and purpose.)

Make change one step at a time.

• Practice, practice, practice is the name of the game. You can’t do it all at once, but incrementally you can train your mind and your body to be prepared for experiences that are repetitive and also new ones that rely on your muscle being both stretched and toned. Slowly the experiences that felt challenging initially become instinctive to manage, and the training edge keeps moving further and further towards peak endurance. Just as athletes “do reps” to develop muscle memory, our DEI muscle needs frequency to become an instinctive part of our daily practice. That muscle memory will become an essential aspect of building a strong DEI practice.

No pain, No gain.

• Practice is not easy because conditioning is hard and at times can be monotonous. In sports (and life) you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable if you want to experience real growth. The muscle grows when you have reached your breaking point but continue to hold on. Practice and the art of repetition is the key to developing muscle memory, to make change. As you/we continue, we engage the learning systems of the brain -- the neurological pathways in our brains that inform our DEI mindsets and behaviors become quicker and more easily utilized.

Celebrate accomplishments.

• With every extra lift, mile, and push, new relationships evolve, new understandings emerge, and often the greatest gain is with our own sense of self and renewed understanding of our own potential. External validation is less relevant, because the growth we see is enough to keep us going, moving towards something that starts to inform so many aspects of our daily life. We see the world with fresh eyes, and the world seems to see us anew, too.

• “Just as we celebrate personal bests, a new record or a game high, we should celebrate our renewed understanding of our potential growth.” Mary Jo Pruitt, friend and long-time athletic director and collegiate athlete

Work through the injuries.

• Sometimes we push too hard, or we simply don’t know if the commitment is worth the pain. But, we can often use our accomplishments to keep us going - until we can’t. That’s when it feels like it’s time to give up. The personal hurt is too tough, or the repair work necessary to get over the hurdle seems too great. The worst is when the injury impacts others. Our lives seem turned upside down. This is when the muscle atrophies the most, unless we commit to coming back stronger. We pull on every ounce of knowledge and internal fortitude we have because we know that if the muscle heals it will be stronger than ever.

It’s a lifelong commitment.

• There may be races to win and mountains to climb along the way, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. The journey is forever. It’s a lifelong commitment to developing a mindset and a set of daily practices that sustain the DEI muscle so that it is strong, flexible, resilient, and yes, beautiful.

The DEI muscle may be the most magnetic and compelling one you build, because it will allow you to feel and understand in ways that continue to amaze you. Get training; our shared future depends on it!

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Giving credit where credit is due: My own children's experience growing up as student athletes inspired this post. They grew tremendously through their team sports experiences in large part due to the coaching and wisdom of their high school athletic director, Mary Jo Pruitt. So heartfelt thanks to her for her commitment to fostering strong student athletes and leaders. After reading a draft of this post she told me, "Remember to encourage one another, because the most electrifying moments are when we have the backs of each other, celebrating, cheering and rooting for one another." All children should have such a mentor in their lives. Thanks, MJP!