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You’re not going to save the world and everyone in it.

Neither am I.

Single-handedly, none of us are going to make a gigantic splash.

I’m here to say—that’s okay.

Right now, tensions and passions are high globally. From the pandemic and political matters to climate change and social injustices—there are so many causes that have people fired up. That’s a great thing. I firmly believe that awareness is a beautiful thing. Once you know something, you can’t unknow it.

That doesn’t mean that you and I need to champion and fight for every single cause. Not because they aren’t important or we don’t care about them, but because we might not be the best person for that particular cause.

I see it so often right now. People commenting on my feeds that because I have this large following I should be doing more to talk about or support this cause or that one. I get it. I felt the same way when it came to talking about alcohol and the truth behind it.

Why wasn’t everyone shouting this news from rooftops? Why weren’t more people upset about all the lies we’ve been fed? What about all the money going toward studies funded by the alcohol industry or all the marketing dollars spent on it?

I get it now, and I’m giving myself and everyone else out there permission to embrace this idea—you can’t do it all and you were never meant to.

It’s impossible to be the bell ringer for every single issue that is out there today. That doesn’t mean we’re being complacent or tone-deaf to what is going on around us. That’s not true at all. Instead, we’re doing something amazing that creates an amazing ripple effect that impacts each and every issue that impacts the world.

There’s no way any of us can go out and create a vaccine for COVID-19 while making sure everyone in the country is registered to vote and at the polls and also unravel the past 500 years of social injustices and inequalities.

It’s the same thing as being the person trying to work a full-time job, raise three kids, be president of the PTA, establish a nonprofit organization, and complete an Ironman.

Sure, you can do all those things, but you won’t be your best at any of them. We all have a finite amount of time and energy along with unique and specialized talents.

I no longer feel like everyone needs to be championing the negative effects of alcohol. That doesn’t mean I no longer feel as if my cause is important. It also doesn’t mean that I feel like by not talking about it, other people don’t care.

I’ve realized that this isn’t their cause to champion. They know it exists and it concerns them. They might have even educated themselves on it and do what they can to support it in their own way but, no, they aren’t mobilizing the forces around the cause and pushing it.

And I’m thankful for that. It creates the space for me to do it and to be more effective at it while they focus their time and energy on the causes that they are most passionate about and the efforts that they are best suited to support.

When we remove our passion and our rightfully heightened emotions around the idea, it does make sense though. In almost every other area of our lives, we take the same approach. We have certain roles and responsibilities in our jobs, our homes, and, yes—even in society and the community. We don’t question why the brain surgeon isn’t doing surgery on our cat or why the plumber can’t put a new roof on our home. No one is up in arms about the fact that the grocery store isn’t also selling cars or that the car lot doesn’t sell groceries.

You and I can’t do it all and we were never meant to. What we can do is be the champions of our causes and do the best possible job we can in those roles. I firmly believe that as I am helping others to find freedom in their relationship with alcohol, I am also championing them to go out and support all of those causes that they are passionate about that the alcohol prevented them from supporting. That is the ripple effect. The first stone in that pond might start with me and something like The Alcohol Experiment but when that person finds freedom from alcohol, they might be the one who will find a vaccine for COVID-19, mobilize voters, or establish world peace. I don’t know where they will go from there, but I know that without that first stone, none of it would be possible.

Rather than question if someone else is doing enough or why they aren’t using their platform for a cause you’re passionate about, dig deeper. How is their cause related to yours? In what way are their efforts impacting what you’re passionate about? Take a moment to thank them and offer your support or a chance to collaborate so you can widen that impact.

None of us will ever be able to do it all, but we can do our best work where our passions are, and support and encourage others to do the same with their passions and talents. It’s true that alone none of us will save the world or make a giant splash, but together we can do amazing things and create change.

One passion, one cause, and one person at a time.

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