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Nuts & Bolts: Take time to protect your mental health [1]
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Date: 2022-09-18
The Three M’s and what can’t be quantified
If you have ever attended one of the major training programs on how to run a campaign, they will tell you all about the three Ms, the key ingredients of a campaign: message, money, minutes. Do you have the right message that resonates with your voters? Do you have enough money to make sure your message is heard? Most importantly, is there enough time (minutes) to get your message out there?
We think about these often. Tell me the money a campaign has on hand and I can tell you if they have a shot. Let me know their message and I can tell you how it might sit with their district. If you tell me where they are in polling versus the time away from election day, I can tell you if they have enough time to either catch up or lock in an election. These are major factors in every campaign and you need to know them if you plan on winning.
There are a few factors that we don’t talk about because they aren’t easy to quantify on a spreadsheet. There are several of these in my book, including mindfulness, motivation, passion, purpose, rest, and reward.
Today, though, I want to talk just about the fourth M: mindfulness.
Have you ever sat through a meditation? Done some yoga? Maybe you say to yourself, “this is not for me!” I am certainly not here to advocate for a form of mindfulness that you do not appreciate. Mindfulness means far more than sitting cross-legged on a mat or breathing deeply. In a campaign, mindfulness doesn’t involve either of those things.
A candidate and paid staff have to be mindful of how hard they are pushing volunteers, and what they are asking a volunteer to do every day.
Campaigns ask a lot from those around them, and the least they deserve is a campaign that is open and aware of that sacrifice by staying aware of their needs and mindful of their motivations.
Many campaigns have practiced a form of mindfulness in a lot of different ways. Taco Tuesday nights for volunteers! Karaoke night for staff who are working hard but need to blow off steam! The willingness to sit down and talk with volunteers and staff so that they know they are appreciated.
Rest is a key component in refreshing a campaign and keeping your workers ready, and mindfulness goes hand in hand by keeping those in your campaign feel seen and appreciated.
You can have the right message, the right money, and the right amount of time, but if you are not mindful of the needs of your volunteers and staff you can squander all of those elements because the people you need most are not performing at their best.
A minute in the hands of someone who feels appreciated and seen matters. A minute in someone who isn’t rested and doesn’t feel cared for is just a minute that barely matters. Which has more impact on your campaign?
Protect your mental health
Candidates themselves can find that taking moments for mindfulness by being appreciative of those around them, and by taking moments to themselves for rest and reflection can make a significant difference in how they perform on the campaign trail. When you are rested and in a positive place for your mental health, the way you interact with others around you is drastically improved. You will present your message better, your minutes will mean more, and you will approach fundraising, always a difficult task, with an understanding that you can’t beat yourself up over highs and lows, you just keep your head down and keep working.
Candidates and campaign managers need those moments, the moments to burn off steam, to be mindful of their own limits, and to respect their minds and bodies. Protect your mental health so that as you journey on your campaign path you can present yourself in the best way possible at every stop.
That’s my case for mindfulness as something that matters in your campaign. As always, I welcome your comments and look forward to discussing with our community how you can take these lessons to build a better campaign.
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