The world feels heavy. Considering policing of fundamental rights, uncertainty in job security, removal of diverse spaces and a plethora of other societal scares, the Companies Doing Good team would like to share how we’re maintaining our internal peace in times of unpredictability.
One person can’t reverse the damage that has been done, but on an individual level, it’s incredibly important to do what we can to plant seeds of change in our own world and maintain our mental wellbeing while doing so.
The team has each answered a few questions to navigate how we are personally moving through the world while focusing on how to maintain the fire we all have to make a sizable impact. If you’re needing some guidance, inspiration, a voice of reason or a friend, we’re happy you’re here.
What are you prioritizing to help you personally move through the world?
Courtney Mathis, CEO & Founder
Feeling prepared, purposefully engaged, and emotionally recharged are essential for me right now.
Part of feeling prepared is taking care of some household tasks, such as ensuring everyone’s passports are renewed, decreasing the “stuff” I have in my house and more focus on needs and joy, reducing debts, going plant-based, stocking up on medications, and ensuring my family and friends have all the same information I do.
Being intentionally activated means I filter the news and media coming into my ecosystem and stay discerning about the best ways to deploy my own activism. Sometimes this is marching, other times it is divesting my purchasing habits from retailers that don’t align with my values, other times it’s sharing information with certain groups of people that I feel will help keep them safe. As a mother and small business owner, there is definitely some picking and choosing based on my own bandwidth. And I accept that as good enough for right now.
Everyone says to take care of yourself. I actually feel like the word “rest” can be used in toxic ways. But for me, emotional rest can mean several things: skiing with my family, rock climbing with friends, showing up to my poetry class, playing piano or reading a saucy romance. It’s a way to check-out, recharge and fill the necessary cups. This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint, and I’m happy to stop at every single checkpoint.
Lisa Buffo, CMO
Sleep! Listening to my nervous system. Play. I’ve been going through a shift in my life, overall, in allowing myself to show up more honestly and authentically in relation to my emotions and my body. If I am feeling a certain way, I don’t override it, I listen to it and get curious about it. At the same time, I don’t take myself too seriously. I’m learning how to allow myself play and joy and to have fun, even when it can feel like everything is burning around you. There is something radical and freeing in that, even if you can only do it 1% better than you did before. Allowing myself rest and sleep has also been tremendously helpful.
Nora Thomas-Dib, Marketing Director
I am prioritizing all things self-interest at the moment. I’m a go-getter and have no issue doing things by myself which has helped me hone in on my interests and get deep into the activities that fill my cup. It’s also helping me set boundaries with the relationships in my life, focusing on those who share interests that allow me to continue curious conversations. Boundaries around what content / news I let into my life is a big one for me at the moment ensuring I don’t let the mess of the world distract me from my goals and desires. Yoga is something really important to me and it’s never been easier to go to my five classes a week—it’s a tool I use to get out of my head and that is what I feel like doing quite a bit lately. Yoga has brought me to participate in a weekly handstand class as well which supports me in viewing the world from different perspectives—I notice I become very mindful of others and their situations without internalizing and presence of judgement. Spending time with friends and family has been really supportive and a reminder to stay in connection to those who are values aligned. Now more than ever I’m aware that nurturing the relationships of the people who have your back and want the same good as you do is the best way to fill your cup.
How has the current political climate influenced your perspective on social impact and the work we do at Companies Doing Good?
Courtney
I think if we are really paying attention, we see movements forming around anti-oligarchy and divesting from big corporations. We also see folks realizing that voting actually happens every day with their dollar. So using your dollar to support companies that align with your values feels like a natural next step. This is the core of what CDG teaches its clients: build a business around purpose, story tell your Good and engage all stakeholders in the process. This ensures that the companies and leaders with the most aligned values and resources, are the ones successfully providing goods and services to our communities. While the political atmosphere right now is full of chaos, the path for CDG is clear. We are doubling down on building Good businesses, exciting purpose-driven customers and shepherding in a new form of capitalism (less extractive, more people-centered). Our biggest goal is to get even LOUDER. So stay tuned, because this small business is about to have a major impact and influence on business practices and customer behavior.
Lisa
I think life can be very cyclical, but it’s important to be real and grounded in what is happening in the present time. Overall, I believe in the goodness of humanity and that there are more people who are compassionate, caring and loving than those who are not. I think people are looking for new and improved ways to engage in social impact and the time is ripe for this work to have more of a platform.
Nora
I’ve been weary of the way we’re conditioned to move through the world for as long as I can remember. Although I knew something didn’t feel “right”, I really only started to understand the concept of conditioning during my undergrad for two reasons: one, critical thinking in all of my classes was core to understanding educational material and two, I was surrounded by individuals who were much different than me in most regards, but especially regarding race and socioeconomic status. It wasn’t until I started school that I realized there was a verb to describe the jaded feeling and that this was a significant problem. I always found myself wondering why the incredibly affluent students at my school weren’t even remotely aware of their five classmates that were people of color. I questioned why on each university promotional flier or video, there were two Black or Brown students for every white individual because that was simply just not true. There are so many areas of important impact work we can dive into, and in my case diversity, equity and inclusion is a non-negotiable. I’m also adding in belonging, an addition to DEI brought forward by different scholars who hold this area of expertise.
My perspective? Organizations need Companies Doing Good now more than ever. People who are not white, heterosexual cis-gendered males are hurting. Brown people are hurting. Black people are hurting. Queer folx are hurting. Women are hurting. Immigrants are hurting. For f**** sake, the government calls immigrants “aliens.” Can we get anymore exclusionary? North African countries have never been a specific category on the U.S. census meaning I need to choose “caucasian” on every check-the-box form even though that isn’t my true identity. I would love to live in a world where belonging was the standard. Where no matter your race, ethnically, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, religion, physical and cognitive abilities, etc. are taken seriously and even considered for that matter. Companies Doing Good functions from the heart intertwined with strategy to create demonstrable impact for communities who need it most. Study after study proves that this is what generations to come want to see. They want purposeful companies to buy their necessities and leisure items from. The problem is, a lot of companies are aware that they need impact work, but they don’t know where to start and they don’t know how to execute. This is achievable when working with Companies Doing Good because we approach all aspects of your business with intentional do-good work that turns into profits.
What advice do you have for other people who are feeling stuck and want to take collective action or action for their own lives?
Courtney
Feeling stuck is normal. I feel stuck every other day. 🙂 Take walks, build community, tag in where it feels productive and tag out where it feels exhausting. Lean on community organizers and local movement work to know where and how to lend your time, talent and resources. And most importantly, consider that there is A LOT of noise around many different important causes and issues. Pick one. We weren’t intended to be master jugglers crisis after crisis after crisis. So pick your lane, your cause, your activism and double down there. Then expand your efforts when you feel less stuck and more resourced. Every breath of energy into movement work is a gift. So give gratitude to yourself for just showing up!
Lisa
To go with where there’s flow. It’s easy when we feel stuck to feel like we’re at zero and have to make radical changes, but I bet there are some areas in your life where something is working and going well, even if it’s small. Focus on and validate those aspects. Lean into them and engage with them more. It’s an easy, small, step to take and I have found that when you’re feeling stuck, baby steps are much simpler to take. Small steps can have disproportionately bigger returns and they’re much more approachable than huge pivots. In hindsight, lots of small steps can end up resulting in pivots whether you realize it at the time, or not.
Nora
Start by asking yourself what’s important to you and what is realistic for your current situation. Staying in those parameters while pondering exploration is a good place to begin as a way to find tangible solutions. For my current situation, I’m grateful that I’m unmarried with no kids, work remotely with individuals who all value and participate in remote work and have no ties to my hometown other than family, friends and my cat. I began living the nomad life in 2024 and will be doing the same this year, but this time, I’m taking it a step further by exploring the possibilities of finding a home base in Europe as I run towards better opportunities and do what I need to do to hold onto my rights.
So, what are you doing to maintain your autonomy?