One of my early lessons in leading change came at the age of 19, while working in a program known as VISTA, Volunteers in Service to America. The lesson was this: Leading change is a marathon not a sprint.

Sometimes you just have to pace yourself, give your mind and body a break, and do something frivolous and fun to maintain your balance.

In 1968, racial tensions were especially high in rural Florida, and neither my VISTA co-workers nor I were feeling the love in the segregated communities we were supporting. We were mostly a bunch of passionate, idealistic kids, referred to by many of the locals as “outside agitators.” For some of our volunteers, the tense, resistant atmosphere triggered a response that I call “passion overload.” These volunteers responded to rejection and resistance by redoubling their efforts, a tactic that sometimes worked but ultimately left them without balance in their lives. After several months of nonstop advocacy to disinterested and sometimes hostile communities, these overly zealous VISTA volunteers began to crash. Several quit the program, while others just became paralyzed by overload and stopped trying.

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