Self-Abandoning In The Name Of Purpose — Reflective Questions

by Annalise Lewis
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“The weight I carry is not all mine to bear; and somewhere along the way, I learnt to self-abandon as a coping strategy.”

This theme of self-abandonment keeps cropping up.
In client conversations, in community spaces, and in the pages of my own journal.

Those working in the changemaker space — activism, human rights, sustainable innovation, future-sculpting — people whose values run marrow-deep, often become quietly blinkered by the cause.
Small acts of self-abandonment accumulate, disguised as purpose.

And it raises two uncomfortable but necessary questions:

1. Can I create meaningful impact without sacrificing myself to the mission?
2. And are we even designing *ourselves* into the flourishing futures we’re trying to enable?


For those sensitive and courageous enough to shoulder the world’s trouble: here’s a regenerative question I’ve been sitting with; a question that helps us make choices that:

   •   meet our inner needs,
   •   respect our outer limits, and
   •   lean gently toward the future we desire.


How can I choose in a way that gives back to my future self as well as the world?

Because decisions made this way become compost; nourishing tomorrow instead of depleting it.
I love meeting others willing to enter the depth, the complexity, and the unvarnished simplicity of this work.