Motivation and Coping as an Activist

We all will probably face times when we lose our drive to get active for animals or find ourselves feeling “burnt out”. We may still care about animal rights, but we suddenly lack the drive to get involved in activism.

Obviously if there are big personal problems affecting your activism drive then you need to get those sorted, for your own sake as well as for the animals. Otherwise, it might be worth taking a moment to think about why your motivation’s gone – pinpointing the problem can help you find out how to tackle it.

Ways to get motivated:

• What got you interested in AR in the first place? Re-read that book, re-watch that video, remember that conversation you had with another activist that first got you involved

• Find out what activism’s going on. I personally find going on Veggies ARC (an absolutely essential resource for UK activists) and seeing the list of demos, events etc makes me want to get involved

• Read about what other activists are doing. Let their commitment to AR inspire you to get active yourself

• If pessimistic thoughts about activism are holding you back, just think of all the positive changes various movements, including the AR movement, have created. Read a book like “Animal Century” by Mark Gold that illustrates the changing attitudes to towards animals in the last hundred years or so

• List everything you could do to help animals. This will get you thinking about activism again, as well as hopefully giving you ideas as to how to make a difference

• Go visit an animal sanctuary or other place with animals that aren’t being exploited. This will hopefully remind you of the main reason why you’re an activist – to help animals.

• Communicate with other activists. Going on the boards may be enough, but if you can, join a local AR group or become a member of a national organisation. This communication with other activists will again help inspire you, and the information about animal abuse and ways you can stop it should help motivate you to take action

• Think of times when you’ve taken part in activism and (hopefully!) how happy it made you feel afterwards. If you want that warm fuzzy feeling of having done good to come back, you’ve got to get out there and get active!

Preventing motivation loss:

It’s obviously much better if you don’t lose motivation in the first place. Looking after yourself will help a lot. Take time to relax. It’s a bit like when you’re revising for an exam: most people find that if they revise 24/7 without a break they end up getting more stressed and tired and remember less. Whilst you should aim to be as active for animals as possible, you still need time for yourself to avoid burn out, where you basically become so stressed or disillusioned by animal suffering you can’t bring yourself to be active anymore.

Exercise regularly. If possible get outside for some good old fresh air, but obviously if the weather’s not on your side or you live in a very polluted area this may not be ideal.

Things like yoga are very relaxing and good for you – great if you get stressed out a lot. Meditation also helps and is a good way to chill and de-stress. Doing aerobics, swimming, running, cycling – basically any exercise will help you not only physically, but mentally. Eat a healthy, balanced diet (because being a junk-food vegan is all too easy these days!) and take time to do the things you enjoy.

Even if you think your motivation levels are fine, doing the things mentioned for motivation will help stop you ever losing your activism drive or getting burnt-out.

Remember that small actions can make a difference. Whilst attending demos is awesome if you can, remember that door dropping leaflets or selling vegan cakes to people you know to raise money for an animal charity is still important. Be the best activist you can be without getting so active you end up burnt-out and unable to do any activism at all. That’s not an excuse for sitting around doing nothing, though!

Even if, for whatever reason, you can’t go out there, still try and get active. Make a recipe book with your favourite vegan recipes to sell to your friends to raise funds for an animal charity; write an article for a local / regional paper about any aspect of animal abuse; write a letter or email to a company that abuses animals; or use it as an opportunity to read up on animal issues, ethics, and activism so you can be the best activist you can be.

Stay motivated, stay driven, and stay active!

Running a Bake Sale

I enjoy baking; most people enjoy eating baked goods and are willing to pay for them... Combine the two and it's clear that a bake sale is the way to go.


A vegan bake sale is great for two key reason: Fundraising and Outreach. Obviously any money raised can go to a good cause, such as your local campaign group to fund future campaigns, to a national campaign group, to an animal shelter, and so on. The outreach aspect also makes activities such as bake sales well worth while. It sends out a positive image of vegans and veganism, and - so long as the food is tasty! - it shows off how good vegan food can be.


We held ours on campus, which took a quick email to the student activities organiser to arrange. There's a usual spot at my uni for holding stalls, bake sales etc, just outside the Students' Union building and by the student pub / bar.


Chocolate brownies (which disappeared within about 15 minutes of us setting up - will make more next time!), flapjacks, chocolate fudge, and lots of different flavour cupcakes were on sale. In the four hours we were out we raised £50.60 - not bad, especially considering it wasn't a very busy day at the Uni and that we'd almost ran out of the food by the end!


Having others help with a bake sale is crucial. There were two of us on the stall the entire time, and a friend who was unable to help on the day kindly baked cupcakes for the sale. Make sure you know what everyone's making so you can get a good range of baked goods.


We used an inexpensive cake stand and some pretty plastic plates to make it look nice, as well as a table cloth, as pasting tables aren't really that attractive! There were a few different vegan leaflets to the side too, such as the Animal Aid "I can't believe it's... Vegan!" one which I always try and have on stalls. I also printed off some copies of some of the recipes I'd used too. People may ask you questions about veganism or other animal issues, so treat this in the same way you would any vegan / animal rights stall, and make sure you know your stuff!


That was our first bake sale. Once I'm back at Uni come September, there'll be more bake sales organised. I know now to bake more brownies, and have some form of bags for people to put their purchases in if need be. I've also got copies of "The Cake Scoffer" booklet to sell to raise some extra funds too.


It's things like bake sales which I enjoy probably more than many other forms of activism, as they're more relaxed but still have an important place.

Review - The Beautiful Mountain Cafe

Whenver I visit somewhere, I do a bit of research into if there are any vegan, or vegan friendly, places to eat.

So earlier today, I decided to try The Beautiful Mountain Cafe (http://www.thebeautifulmountain.co.uk/index.php) in Aberdeen, Scotland. It's not exclusively vegan or vegetarian, but there are a few options suitable for vegans.

My partner and I both ordered a sandwich with the soup of the day. The soup and the sandwich filling I had ordered (grilled vegetables) turned out to be unavailable, so I had a bean pate sandwich instead. My partner had the avocado and pepper sandwich, which he describes as being "slightly above average" - same with the sandwich I had.

The staff were very friendly and helpful, knowing which options were suitable for vegans. My sandwich was "on the house" because of having to change due to my original choice being unavailable. It was busy when we went, but we managed to get a table, with a view outside.

They also have a takeaway area downstairs.

I would recommend giving The Beautiful Mountain Cafe a try if you are ever in Aberdeen. Finding places to eat when you're out and about, especially when you are staying somehwere you are unfamiliar with, can sometimes be difficult, so it is always nice to find a cafe where there are good vegan options and staff who understand what veganism is.

Positives:

• The staff were very friendly and helpful, and saying I could have the sandwich "on the house" was very much appreciated
• Nice atmosphere, doesn't feel too hectic

Negatives:

• A bit on the expensive side for what it is
• Accessibility may be an issue as the cafe's on the first floor
• Limited number of vegetarian and vegan options