My friend Deb joined my Avon team last month. This morning, I received an email from her that I wanted to share here. I hope my advice helps Deb, and anyone else who is thinking about participating in a charity walk.
I open my book (Avon Walk) last night and start reading it. I read about the sleeping bag, the tent, and packing a backpack for it, and collecting money, and about the night before, and I start to go…Overwhelmed much? Then I realize, it’s my fear of failure, I think. I mean, crap, if other people can do this, I can too.
Then I panic and think, maybe I’ll just make a big donation to Colleen and help her reach her goal by donating a couple times through the year, and sit it out. It’s not that I can’t do the “actual walk”, it’s all the other stuff that goes with it that overwhelms me.
Do you find it to be an overwhelming experience? I told my husband about 2x last night, oh my gosh, I don’t know if I can do this…yes I can…well, maybe not…no, no, Yes I can.
Any thoughts on your past experiences?
Deb
Deb, the easiest thing to do is the donate money to walkers. Walking is the hard part. We walk because cancer isn’t easy. Imagine being a new mom, who just found out she’s got breast cancer. Or a grandmother to 7, who found out her cancer can’t be cured, and this will be her last Christmas. Cancer is hard. Chemo is hard. Dying isn’t fun. This may sound melodramatic, but it’s true. Compared to all of that, raising money, camping, and walking is the easy part.
Take it step by step, and you won’t fail. You can raise the money. You have plenty of friends and family members who will donate to your cause. If you still need help, have a fundraiser! Stand out in front of a grocery store and beg for loose change. Stalk the people you work out with at the gym.
Make a list, and gather your supplies. If you forget something, they will be 2,000 other campers willing to help you out. Walkers are among the most helpful and friendly bunch of people I know, and they won’t hesitate to lend you a hand.
Camping? My idea of roughing it is staying at a 2 star hotel, but I camped. I slept in a tent, I showered in the back of a truck, I went without air conditioning. If I can do it, anyone can do it.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you look at this event and it seems like you’re staring up at the side of a mountain. Once you start raising money, and working towards your goal, you’ll realize that you’re now halfway up the mountain, and it wasn’t even that hard.
Take it one step at a time. You CAN do this. You can do anything you set your mind to!
December 7th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
See, that’s why you’re a great team member.
I knew you’d help me. Thanks Colleen. My grandmother lost both her breasts to breast cancer. You’re right, that was a hell of a lot harder than what I’m looking at.
((Hugs)) Thanks for opening my eyes in my moment of fear. You’re a good friend.
December 10th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Awesome advice!