B R I T TA N Y B A R N E S D E E G
WE CAN DO HARD THINGS REGION IV TEAM
2020 has been a whirlwind … throughout a global pandemic; the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and continued racial injustice; protests; murder hornets; natural disasters and severe weather crippling all corners of the country; and returning to school amidst it all, the Region IV Membership Engagement and Recruitment (MER) Team adopted Glennon Doyle’s words “we can do hard things ” as our mantra. We committed to not only providing education to Region IV, but also to learn and grow together through our volunteer experiences. We acknowledge education is not successful in a vacuum and everyone learns in different ways. With this in mind, we approached educating Region IV on strategies that improve professional health and well-being in four ways. 1. This article. In this article, you will see six professionals share their perspectives on wellbeing and how to achieve it. 2. A video with words of encouragement, so those in Region IV would not feel alone in whatever circumstances they may face. 3. Pre-work for educational opportunities. Our hope is for those who enter the Region IV educational space to be prepared to engage in meaningful ways through individual preparation and reflection. We work to prime and frame every educational opportunity to allow for optimal learning and continued engagement, as opposed to one-off events. 4. Provide space for those who completed the pre-work to enjoy time with others who also want to experience better professional and overall health by separating one’s self-concept from the work one does. In the below article, we hope you find connection points and opportunities for learning based on how we — within Region IV — are individually and collectively navigating hard things.
