We Can Do Hard Things

How to Stay Sane and Useful In Chaos

February 3, 2026

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  • In times of chaos, the ability to abandon rigid plans and trust the present moment's truth, as exemplified by Gandhi's cancellation of a march, is essential for staying grounded. 
  • The overwhelming nature of current events is an intentional strategy designed to induce paralysis; the antidote is consistent, grounded action through local organizing, rather than doomscrolling or waiting for external heroes. 
  • True leadership and change emerge from on-the-ground, unsexy community organizing and building infrastructure, not from waiting for or relying on elected governmental figures, who are often followers driven by popularity rather than principle. 

Segments

Unpreparedness in Chaos
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(00:00:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Intentionality and long-term planning are unavailable when constantly operating in response mode due to external crises.
  • Summary: Hypervigilance and constant response mode prevent the calm required for creativity and intentional planning. The tension between sticking to a prepared plan and responding to the world’s immediate needs is exhausting. This state can lead to dissociation, where one forgets previous contexts or identities.
Gandhi’s Truthful Inconsistency
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(00:03:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Truthfulness requires inconsistency, meaning one must be willing to abandon a plan if the current reality demands a different response.
  • Summary: A story about Gandhi canceling a planned march based on the truth of the moment illustrates this principle. The speaker emphasizes that being truthful means prioritizing the present reality over prior commitments. This fluidity is necessary for staying embodied and responsive.
Overwhelm as Strategy
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(00:04:59)
  • Key Takeaway: The constant flood of atrocities and negative news cycles is a deliberate strategy to prevent societal acclimation and response.
  • Summary: The strategy of overwhelm aims to flood the zone so that individuals cannot metabolize the information, leading to feelings of futility. Trusting oneself in the moment means consistently asking what action is required today, unbound by yesterday’s expectations. Grounding oneself in organizing counters the feeling of being a kite in a hurricane.
Organizing as Grounding Principle
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(00:07:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The antidote to rage and overwhelm is grounding oneself in local organizing, which is the true response to large-scale issues.
  • Summary: Engaging in local organization, even if seemingly unrelated to current crises, is an active response to those crises. The goal of those creating chaos is to make people unplug and swirl in the wind; organizing prevents this disconnection. Filling one’s life with joy and art is also a necessary form of resistance against dehumanization.
Protest vs. Everyday Organizing
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(00:09:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Protests are the public concert, but the essential work is the day-in, day-out band practice conducted by local organizing groups.
  • Summary: Many people attend protests as audience members, but the real power lies in the underlying ecosystem of local groups meeting and organizing consistently. This infrastructure, built over time through diverse local efforts (e.g., immigrant justice, zoning, community support), is what allows for effective activation when moments arise.
Montgomery Boycott Infrastructure
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(00:12:13)
  • Key Takeaway: Major historical shifts, like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, succeed not because of a single spontaneous act, but because of pre-existing, organized infrastructure.
  • Summary: Rosa Parks’ action was the activation point, but the boycott’s success relied on ten years of groundwork by organizers like Jo Ann Robinson, who had established social structures and communication networks. They created systems, like a pre-Uber carpool network, to sustain the action for 381 days, demonstrating that capacity must precede leverage.
Identifying True Community Leaders
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(00:14:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Real change comes from leveraging on-the-ground organized work, and true leaders are found in communities, not necessarily in government roles.
  • Summary: The expectation that governmental figures will lead reveals a lack of connection to existing community leaders, who are often Black and brown women doing the work for decades. True leaders are sane, wise, disciplined, and full of integrity; their leadership is recognized by how one’s body feels in their presence, unlike politicians who follow popularity.
Opting Out of Individualism
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(00:31:40)
  • Key Takeaway: The individualism enforced by capitalism and white supremacy creates isolation, which prevents the collective engagement necessary to change oppressive conditions.
  • Summary: The fear driving hyper-individualistic efforts, like obsessively manipulating children’s lives for ’exceptionalism,’ is misdirected effort—bailing water instead of patching the boat. Shifting energy from reflexive, anxious activities to collective organizing builds community structures that negate the need for constant individual survival panic.