How to make a difference in your world without destroying yourself: Dragon Quests

Do you want to make a difference in your world? But you are overwhelmed with everything that is going on all the time. A “Dragon Quest” may help.

Originally published on January 31, 2025, on Substack.

 

Do you want to make a difference in your world? But you are overwhelmed with everything that is going on all the time. Maybe you do not know where to put your effort and you are scared that there is no way for you to make enough of a difference in the world.

 

I’d like to share with you some tips and tricks that help me.

 

I consider myself an advocate. I am a part of several different organizations and committees. I volunteer regularly in neurodiversity, mental health, and disability fields. To keep myself excited about my advocacy work without dealing with advocacy burnout, I use a fun mindset shift to imagine that I am fighting against dragons.

 

Silly, I know. But it’s helpful.

 

A dragon in this context is a social justice issue that feels too hard to fight on your own. Something that is always looming and that you are fearful of. A system in place that hurts you or the ones you love.

 

The various dragons could be labeled as racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, classism, environmental concerns, democracy concerns, war & genocide, and many more.

 

There are so many issues in our world and sometimes that can be quite overwhelming. Imagine staring up at the sky and seeing a bunch of dragons. Maybe you want to fight them all, but if you go out to fight a dragon alone, you will be burned. Maybe you want to run and hide, but that does not stop the dragons from hurting others or you.

 

Neither of those choices would necessarily help you out in the long run.

 

So, that’s where a Dragon Quest comes in.

 

A Dragon Quest is the single dragon that you focus most of your altruistic energy on rather than spreading yourself too thin. This will hopefully successfully fend off most of the burnout related to the terrifying amount of social justice issues that plague the world.

 

To do this, you can choose one issue that you want to make a difference on and find a community to help fight that dragon. This can be as big or small as you want.

 

Though, I suggest starting small. If there is more than one dragon you want to fight start with one and work your way up to more than one.

 

For me, I started by choosing mental health and celebrating that mental health recovery is possible, then I added neurodiversity once I learned about the nuances of the movement, and finally, I added general disability issues to my radar because ableism isn’t talked about enough and education can go along way.

 

So, when I refer to fighting my dragon or going on Dragon Quests my focus is on neurodiversity, mental health, and disability topics. I sit on various committees and councils in my community, share my story widely as a speaker and consultant, and create educational and inspirational content.

 

Now that you know which dragon you are aiming for, here are some dragon quest tips:

 

Dragon Quest tips:

 

Do not try to fight a dragon alone

If you are in the United States, I suggest finding a local organization to volunteer with. If possible, aim for city, county, or state-based organizations first.

For example. if you were in Minnesota and your dragon was related to mental health issues, you might look at your county’s Local Advisory Council on mental health. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is also an organization I have enjoyed volunteering with.

The point is to build a community of people who care about the same things you do while actively trying to better everyone’s lives.

Help others out, but be a leader in your fight.

Just because you are focused on your dragon doesn’t mean you can ignore all of the other dragons. Rather, being focused on your dragon leads you down a path of being a leader in the fight and with that you can help others help you and your community make meaningful changes.

So, when you find the leaders of fights against other dragons, you can listen to them so they can help you know what to do to help their community.

Do not speak for a community that you are not a part of. But, do be a helpful ally and support others, especially if a dragon seems like it might attack soon or is attacking.

This is especially important when people are getting hurt.

Start where you are at.

What organizations and communities are you already a part of? That’s where you will start. “Dragon Fighting” is a practiced skill. You’ll get better at it as you spend time doing it.

 

Work to bring the voices of the oppressed into the fight.

“Nothing about us without us” is something to keep in mind. Do not go fighting a dragon if those who have been harmed or are threatened to be harmed by it are not involved in the strategizing.

Who is currently getting hurt by this dragon? How do you make sure that you uplift their stories? Everyone’s story is important. If people are being hurt by the dragon, their perspective will be very important in the fight.

 

Stay educated. You are aiming to know enough that you know very little about the dragon.

Read. Listen to audiobooks. Podcasts. Have conversations with your friends.

Know what is happening in this world related to your dragon. Be informed.

Try to listen to an equal amount of “academics” and those with lived experiences. Both are very important to this work. And I do not think we can make much progress if we only incentivize listening to one over the other.

 

Take care of yourself.

If you are currently being burned by a dragon, you need support not to expect yourself to fight the dragon that is hurting you.

 

I ask you to keep trying to get help. I know it is hardly ever easy and sometimes impossible, but it’s worth the effort, there are people out there who want to help you.

 

Right now it may feel like so many different dragons circling around ready to hurt people, and you’re probably right. While it is important to keep informed, you also need to focus on your mental and physical well-being. This is a time to practice balance.

 

It is hard to fight if you are burnt out, so practice stress management skills and reach out to your communities to find each other.

 

So, what dragon are you focusing on?

 

Whatever quest you are on, I am proud of you for going on it.