Blog Series: Strategy, Psychology, and the Mindfulness of Nonprofit Marketing

I’ve been thinking a lot these days about the connection between Mindfulness and Nonprofit Marketing. Maybe it’s because, in our new work-from-home world, I’ve found myself diving deeper into the practices and learning pursuits that take me out of my professional comfort zone for a bit, and help me find a little more calm in the midst of all of this ongoing chaos.

One of the many insights I’ve come across while reading books and listening to talks from modern mindfulness teachers like Pema Chodron, Michael Singer, Sharon Salzberg, and Spring Washam (along with the fact that mindfulness is actually called a “practice” for a reason, ha), is that many of the challenges we face as we try to improve the emotional world inside our minds—are actually the same challenges we face when we’re trying to improve the physical world around us. 

In our nonprofit work, it’s so easy to feel weighed down by the unspoken pressure of wanting to have all the right answers, all of the time. Or at the very least, always feeling like we need to know where to go to find them.

But if we’re able to get comfortable with NOT having all the answers—to find joy in discovering new ways of thinking, and embrace the potential in exploring different perspectives—we begin to see that the path we take to make an impact is just as important (and worthy of attention) as the end goal we’re aiming to achieve.

Putting all that pressure on ourselves to always have a clear direction, and always be in GO GO GO mode, isn’t a pressure we need to endure. In fact, it’s a pressure that’s actually counterproductive. And one that doesn’t have to exist. 

There’s so much more to learn on our paths to affecting meaningful change in the worlds inside, and outside, ourselves than we could possibly imagine. I’m unearthing small, but significant, new “aha” insights about the connection between my beliefs, and my behaviors, almost every day. But even the tiny bit I’ve learned so far is more than I could ever explore in one little blog post. So over the next few months, I’m hoping to share some with you through an ongoing blog series, called Strategy, Psychology, and the Mindfulness of Nonprofit Marketing. 

If you’re not into the whole mindfulness/meditation game, don’t worry. I promise this isn’t really about that. What it IS about is being open to adopting a different mindset, and applying new ways of thinking, to our daily nonprofit work. It’s about breaking old patterns and preconceptions that are unknowingly holding us back from making real progress, and impact, on our organizations and the communities we serve. After all, that’s why we’re here. 

Get started with the first post in this series here.