In the latest Heartstopper Netflix film, Charlie Spring and Isaac Henderson have a conversation that resonated with me deeply and prompted me to write this blog. Charlie shares how difficult it was for him to imagine the future when he was going through a tough time. Isaac validates him by saying something along the lines of, “Of course you couldn’t see the future, you were surviving.”
This exchange made me reflect on how many times changemakers go through periods when surviving is all they can do, myself included, and as a result, they can’t see the future.
If this resonates with you too, I want to reassure you: it’s okay.
When these periods happen, it is not because you lack vision, because you’ve lost your ambition, or because you’ve stopped believing in what you are building.
Why Changemakers Enter Survival Mode
You can’t see the future because every ounce of your energy, every part of your being, is being used to get through the day. This can happen for a variety of reasons:
- You are worried about payroll this month, paying the rent, or simply keeping the lights on. The responsibility you feel is overwhelming, and it obscures your vision. It’s like having brain fog. I have yet to meet a founder who hasn’t lived through some variation of this experience.
- You are burnt out and physically cannot think beyond the day you are living. All you can do is focus on what is achievable today. This is your body telling you that unless you focus on the “now”, there may not be a tomorrow. It sounds dramatic, but you know what I mean. In extreme cases, neglecting our bodies can have serious consequences. If you’ve managed to escape this trap, share your experience in the comments.
- You feel dehumanised, unwanted, or treated as a second-class citizen. This might be because of new government policies, targeted hate from sections of the community, or being called names in the street at a time when you had already run out of resilience. If you’ve never experienced this, you are one of the lucky ones.
These are just three examples of times when surviving might be all you can do, and that is okay.
When you are operating in survival mode, your world becomes incredibly small. Your focus narrows to what is immediately in front of you. The horizon disappears.
This can be scary especially for changemakers who are driven by vision. We dream of a future we can help create and losing that perspective is like taking the light away from a plant. At the same time, you often have to hold feelings of guilt, shame, and even grief.
How to Cope When You’re in Survival Mode
1. Acknowledge What Is Happening
The first step is recognising it. When you are experiencing some of the situations I mentioned earlier, sometimes the most powerful thing you can say to yourself is:
“I am operating in a survival mode.”
Naming the experience creates a little distance between you and it.
2. How to build Your Survival Kit
Everyone needs a survival kit. Most people don’t realise they need one until they are already underwater (note to self!). If you don’t have one, build it before you need it. Ask yourself:
What matters most to me?
If the answer is family, add actions connected to family into your survival kit. Cook a meal together. Plan an activity for the weekend. Have dinner without distractions.
What brings me joy?
If the answer is running, add running to the kit. If it’s reading, music, gardening, painting, walking, cooking, or swimming, add those too. Then keep going:
- What makes me laugh?
- How do I rest best?
- What helps me feel safe?
- Who are the people I can call?
- What helps me slow down? What does slowing down actually mean to me?
Your survival kit is simply a collection of practices that help you reconnect with yourself when your vision is obscured.
3. Hold Tight
Stay with it. The good news is that survival mode is not a permanent identity. It is a temporary state.
The goal is not to force clarity, pretend to be positive, have all the answers, or put on a brave face. The goal is to resource yourself using your own toolkit.
When you have done that, when you have rested, reconnected, laughed, moved your body, and spent time with people who matter, the darkness begins to lift.
And when that happens, the vision becomes visible again.
Three Radical Ideas About Survival and Vision
If you are in survival mode right now, be gentle with yourself. Not being able to see the future does not mean there is no future. It simply means that your energy is being used elsewhere, to protect, sustain, and carry you through this moment. The vision that brought you here has not disappeared, it is still there. Here are three radical ideas I would like you to consider in your leadership journey:
- When you are surviving, your system is using all available resources to protect what matters right now. That is still in service of your vision, even if it feels counterintuitive. It certainly does to me.
- Sometimes the vision, or the future impact, can wait. This is a hard one for changemakers. It means putting yourself first, trusting that caring for yourself today is not a distraction from the mission. It is what allows the mission to continue tomorrow.
- This work is leadership.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share in the comments, on LinkedIn, or message me directly. Let’s stay connected.
With solidarity and hope,
Sebastian
P.S. If you enjoyed this post, explore the Thriving Changemakers Blog for more insights and stories, and join my free newsletter on LinkedIn.
You can also find me on LinkedIn or Instagram @sebastianrocca or @thriving_changemakers
