Fundraising is hard. You’re asking people to do something they probably haven’t considered doing yet. So they need to be helped through the process. (After all, they’ve given it far less thought than you have!)
And then there’s the news. It can distract and demoralize. If you listen to it, it’s easy to start filling your mind with negative stories about why people can’t give.
This needs to stop.
You need to get your head back in the game. People are still giving. Every day. And your organization is worth receiving those gifts.
Here are my three ways to I keep my head in the game:
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Take Action
Getting out there and doing solicitations is the best thing you can do to get your head back in the game. But even an action as simple as making phone calls to set up those appointments can snap you out of your funk and get you moving forward.
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Reprogram Your Brain
Repeating negative thoughts has an ability to hypnotize us. Stop it.
It’s like our brains work over time to prove whatever we think is the truth. Think scarcity and your brain will faithfully call up all the facts to confirm that, yes, indeed, you are living in scarcity. Think abundance, and lo and behold, your brain will faithfully call up reasons why you really do live in abundance.
One of my favorite thought reprogramming pieces comes from Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking:
I believe I am always divinely guided. I believe I will always take the right turn of the road. I believe God will always make a way where there is no way.
As I say it, I feel more confident and taken care of. And find the courage to move forward.
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Work Out
Sometimes the best way to get your head in the game is to get out of your head. A vigorous work out can do that. As can a brisk walk around the block.
Just changing your environment can work wonders.
Those are my 3. The +1 comes from you.
What would you add? How do you keep your head in the game?
Remember, courage isn’t the absence of fear. Courage is moving forward despite the fear.
Love it Marc! I completely agree with you about negative thinking. So much so, that I start every training with a piece on mindset and it’s part of the first chapter of my new book. Here’s an article I wrote this summer that touches on lots of the same points you made. http://getfullyfunded.com/2011/06/lessons-from-the-universe/
(We’re cut from the same cloth, aren’t we?)
Sandy Rees
Fundraising Coach
Thanks Marc! I love it. Especially the Norman Vincent Peale quote…that has been a guiding principle in my life and career.
My +1 to Getting “your head back in the game” is to take time to reconnect to the mission of your organization…focus on those who are being impacted. Take time to get out from behind the desk and visit the front lines of service delivery. See first hand lives that are being impacted. It always gets me energized, reminds me what I’m really doing…fundraisers are the voice to the community…connecting tangible needs with those who desire to meet those needs.
Robert Croft, CFRE
Thanks Sandy and Robert! Great comments.
That Norman Vincent Peale quote has carried me through some really rough patches!
Love the tips – I also believe in the power of positive thinking and that when we think of something, in way or another we make it happen. As for a nice work out I would recommend yoga as it can really motivate you be more worries-free and positive.