The Problem
You know something needs to change.
Whether an individual, a philanthropist, or the leader of an organization, you've read the books, done the trainings, mapped out the goals, or crafted strategic plans. You understand that burning out isn't sustainable, that pushing through has consequences, and that you are not achieving what you want.
And yet—you keep doing the same things.
For Individuals: The cycle of depletion continues despite your best intentions.
For Philanthropists: Your giving doesn't create the sustainable impact you envisioned—either because the organizations you fund are operating on extractive models, or because your grantmaking approach doesn't align with your values. Or maybe you are having a hard time figuring out how to give in a way that creates the change you want in the world.
For Organizations: Your culture depletes people and misses the mission despite strategies that promise otherwise.
The Root Cause
Here's what these seemingly different problems have in common: they're all rooted in systems—personal, organizational, economic—that require us to override important signals.
Wild animals don't ignore bodily signals. They communicate what's true, often regulate collectively, and operate within sustainable limits.
We've learned to do the opposite. And we've built entire systems that reward this override.
How It Shows Up
Personally: You've lost the ability to listen to yourself. You learn early that what you feel isn't as important as what needs to get done. Your body's signals become inconvenient. Authentic communication feels risky. So you develop sophisticated ways to bypass your own knowing.
In Philanthropy: When you can't recognize these patterns, your dollars may flow into organizations running on extractive models. Or your grantmaking approach—however well-intentioned—may perpetuate top-down, compliance-heavy dynamics that undermine the communities you aim to help. Or maybe you aren't able to align your giving with your values.
In Organizations: When people can't hear themselves, authentic communication becomes impossible. Culture becomes performative. The mission statement reads "people first," but the operating system demands "produce or perish."
At the Planetary scale: When profit becomes the only signal that matters, every other signal—ecological limits, community wisdom, long-term sustainability—gets overridden.
Communication breakdown scales from personal to planetary.
Why Conventional Solutions Don't Work
More self-care tips, strategic plans, or program evaluations won't fix this. They address symptoms, not root causes.
The root cause is this: Most approaches ignore how humans function. They don't account for nervous system realities, the gap between knowing and doing, or the systems that shape behavior. You can't think your way out of a nervous system problem. And you can't create sustainable impact through extractive processes.
What's Needed
Whether you're an individual navigating burnout, a philanthropist wanting your giving to create lasting change, or an organization ready to build a thriving culture, the path forward requires:
1. Recognition: Learning to see the signals you've been trained to ignore or override—in yourself, your team, or from the communities you serve.
2. Redesign: Changing behaviors, systems, and processes to align with what you know is true.
3. Sustainable implementation: Making the healthy choice the easiest choice, not the heroic one.
This is where most approaches stop short. They help you become aware of the problem, but knowing doesn't automatically translate into different behavior.
The gap between awareness and action is where people get stuck.
Changing behavior requires redesigning the environment that shaped it. It requires building systems (personal, organizational, philanthropic) that work with human biology and community wisdom instead of against them.
This is possible. But it requires a different approach.
Schedule a free 30-minute consultation or email kezha@truedoing.com
*I use the word flourishing because it means to grow or develop healthily or vigorously, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment--which is exactly what we need.