Are You Advocating For the Right Reasons?

When I first started my psoriasis advocacy, I was on fire to help make any changes that I could. Over 10 years later and I am still very much on fire. There was so much I did not know when I started. The experience comes with time. It is a process of learning what works and what does not. You must be flexible and be willing to learn. I dare say I am still learning to this day. I still want to be a voice for not only myself but others so that people are aware of what living with psoriasis is all about. When most people and even doctors do not know what psoriasis is, the need for awareness is great. However, I have had to ask myself some tough questions here lately.

Why am I advocating

Now that I am so many years into advocacy what is the real reason for the fire I feel? Am I still eager to educate those who have no clue what our life is like? That is an easy question because the answer is YES! Do I still want to mentor those who are newly diagnosed or those that feel the need for additional support? Again, that is an easy one to answer because I love helping people feel like they are not alone in this journey.

In all my years of advocacy being a mentor is the thing I love the most. It is so rewarding to see someone become stronger and be able to take control of their health in a positive way. Does speaking at conferences still excite me? Yes!! Those are the easy questions but there is another side to those questions.

The hard questions

Am I seeking attention for the right reasons? Ouch. That question popped in my head and made me stop dead in my tracks. Talk about a double edge sword. Think about it. Am I seeking attention to change things for the better or am I seeking attention to get acknowledged? After so many years my advocacy is getting that attention. It is so rewarding when I get a call or email saying we are aware of some of the things you are doing in the psoriasis community. Even more rewarding is being nominated for an award. I am so honored when this happens.

However, I cannot let it derail me from the real purpose of my advocacy. I still must be doing the advocacy for the right reasons and not for the potential of any award.

Does this hit home with anyone?

I am not trying to step on toes. Maybe you are new to advocacy, and you feel that fire that I have talked about. If so, I commend you for being willing to take that step for change. However, if you have been in advocacy for a significant amount of time have you asked yourself this question? Were you like me and had to take a hard look at yourself? It is amazing to be acknowledged. As a person who doesn’t want that honor? I would encourage you to keep doing the very thing that got you that acknowledgement.

You must be doing things right. Let that right reason be the road you continue to take. For myself, I make this promise that until there is a cure for psoriasis, I will not get sidetracked. My fire is still burning.