How hard is it to consistently care about something? And, not only to care, but to take action? It depends on what we are caring for. Some parts of our lives are easier to care about. Others take work. Persistence beyond feelings. We still do it. We show we care by taking action. We take steps to maintain or improve what we care about. When we see impact, it’s easier to care. A positive feedback loop forms, and we want to continue watching our actions have an impact.

That’s when caring becomes powerful.

Recently, I read Dr. Vivek Murthy’s post, The "Reach Out" Rule. He talked about not waiting for a reason or for the right conditions to reach out to someone. If a person crosses your mind, reach out. Right then. Probably takes two minutes. Dr. Vivek talked about why we often wait for the right moment. But I think there’s something else we have to cross over to reach out. It’s the act of using our voice.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had to learn to use my voice over and over again in my career. I face this nearly every day. Speaking up, asking a question, voicing a concern, talking about an assumption I’ve had. Taking the thoughts out of my head, formulating them into a sentence, and sharing what I’m thinking is a daunting task. There are a lot of potential “reasons” for me to stay quiet:

“I don’t want to sound stupid. This might make someone upset. Maybe everyone else knows this but me. Isn’t this how we’ve always done it?”

Sometimes, I’ll hang back, suspended, for a time. I want to speak up, and I’m not sure what will happen if I do. Living in that uncertainty never brings me peace, answers, or the type of feedback I’m hoping for.

Then I remind myself of why it helps to speak up.

“There are no stupid questions. They can handle their own emotions. I still need to know. Just because it’s been that way, doesn’t mean it needs to stay that way.”

I speak up. I say the thing. And, I can’t tell you how many times using my voice has made something better. A missing requirement was found. Someone else had the same question. Another person thought we were doing something else. And, on and on.

Speaking up shines a light in the darkness. By speaking up, you are actively caring for yourself and your work. Just as Dr. Vivek described, it’s uncomfortable to take that step, to reach out, and to care. On the other side of that uncomfortability is the impact. You cared, you took action, and you created. Your voice made an impact. It’s the power of caring.

So, yes, reach out. You aren’t troubling anyone. They want to hear from you. As truth tellers, our voices hold power. We show we care by speaking up, especially when it’s uncomfortable.

Here’s to using our voices.

Show them you care.

Till next time…

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Written with 3am music | not AI (432hz) playing in the background

Disclaimer: The only bit of AI used in the writing of this article was my use of Grammarly. You don’t want to read what I write without it.