Being Peace Jiezhen Wu (Singapore

Jiezzhen Wu Editor’s note: Jie offers reflections on the relationship of inner and outer peace through her lenses as founder and director of a peacebuilding organization, leadership consultant and new mother. Watching her journey from student to wise leader has been an extraordinary joy for Michelle and me.

“PEACE IN ONESELF, PEACE IN THE WORLD.” — Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

“In order to build a more sustainable world, we must be sustainable ourselves.” I remember Matthias Scheffelmeier, one of the Co-Founders of ChangemakerXchange, saying those words in the middle of a summit I was running for social innovators and changemakers in Guizhou, China, back in 2018.

Those words hit home. I had just taken a sabbatical from my role as the Executive Director of The Hidden Good, a social impact media platform and social enterprise, after 4 years of being at the helm of the organization. I loved my job, I loved my team and the community we had built, and I loved being able to build a more inclusive and empathetic world - so I didn’t understand why I felt so depleted. I had thought that if you had a job you loved, and you were making a positive difference in the world - that burnout would not be a thing. But I was wrong.

In becoming more conscious peacebuilders, part of building a more sustainable world is making sure that we are sustainable ourselves - and that includes taking the time to make sure that we look after our inner selves, so that we might be able to be better equipped to do the work we set out to do out in the world.

Over the years in my work engaging with peacebuilders, changemakers and leaders around the world, I’ve found that burnout is actually more common than many expect. In this line of work, many peacebuilders and changemakers often give and give without replenishing their own tanks. And I have seen too many good people burn out and lose the ability to continue doing the work they care so much about. We cannot pour from an empty cup.

In a study that ChangemakerXchange conducted along with an alliance of 16 of the world’s leading youth social innovation networks to better understand the lives and realities of young changemakers, it was found that young changemakers are sacrificing their personal finances and well-being to make a change in the world.

This study, known as The Possibilists, found that “66% of young changemakers cannot cover their financial needs solely through the work on their initiative, meaning they have to look elsewhere for financial compensation and security.” This ends up becoming another source of stress which adds to the burden and respon-

sibilities that so many young peacebuilders and changemakers take on, that sometimes prevents them from being able to sustain this work they care about and themselves. It was also found that “59% of young social innovators in The Possibilists study reported having experienced different degrees of burnout since they started working on their initiative.” This should not and cannot be the norm if we want more young people and peacebuilders to be able to grow in this space and to be able to consciously and sustainably build a better world - without damaging their mental, emotional, physical, financial and spiritual health.

In order to be most effective as peacebuilders, we must be able to take care of ourselves to sustainably take care of others. As peacebuilders, we sometimes spend most of our days looking out at the world, trying to make it more just, more equitable - but we also need to ask ourselves, “At what cost?” I know so many peacebuilders who become jaded, disillusioned, or burnt out and leave the field. This ends up being a huge cost to the sector, when we lose such passionate individuals who set out to contribute to the world around them.

I now work with Linden Leadership, to build more intentional, inclusive and impactful organizations. There are four fields that we look at: the Field of Self, the Interpersonal Field, the Field of Teams and the Enterprise Field. In our work, we believe that everything starts in the Field of Self. Before being able to engage interpersonally, or with teams, or at an enterprise level, we first must be aware and able to look within.

As a new mother of a beautiful 8 month old baby girl, I too am continuing to learn to make space to fill my cup and nourish myself. It is my hope as peacebuilders, changemakers and leaders, that we learn to nourish and sustain ourselves so that we may be better for our families, our communities and the work we hope to do in the world. ²

Jiezhen Wu is a senior consultant and coach at Linden Leadership, where she works with leaders and organizations to build a more intentional, inclusive and impactful world. Most recently, she was also an Equity and Inclusion Fellow and part of the Mindful Leaders Collective at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where she completed her master’s degree focusing on leadership, inclusion and impact. Before Harvard, Jiezhen was the Executive Director of a social enterprise and media platform, The Hidden Good, for several years - and she continues to serve on its board, as well as a number of nonprofit boards that work with youth, education and social impact. Through her work, she has also become an advocate for mindfulness and wellbeing in the changemaking space - and actively supports social innovators and changemakers through her work at Ashoka, the Bosch Foundation and ChangemakerXchange. Jiezhen also double-majored in Political Science and Peace & Justice Studies at Wellesley College, and completed a Graduate Diploma in Applied Positive Psychology. When she’s not working with leaders and organizations, you can find her enjoying a bowl of soup (her favorite food!), reading and going exploring with her daughter Juniper, and taking hikes in nature and walks along the beach with her husband Jared in Southern California where she currently lives.