Fight the Good Fight

I often hear the phrase fight the good fight. I was reminded by these words from Margaret Thatcher that “the good fight” may need to be fought more than once. I know that to be true. I have experienced times when I had to fight for what I earned and still hear stories of people (women especially) having to still fight that same fight twenty and thirty years after I experienced those same fights. It is both sad and discouraging, and yet time alone does not always bring about the changes which will make fighting unnecessary.

I believe people and circumstances can change and do change; it simply takes consistent pressure over a long period of time for there to be a new normal. The global pandemic gave us the gift of cherishing our home life more than before it happened, and it has given us the freedom to work the way we want. If we want to work remote, there are companies that do that. If we want to work in an office, we can do that too. And there are options to do both, we just have to choose companies that have the same values we prefer. To make all that happen we have to first know what we want and value out of work, life, etc. in order to fight for what we want.

And “the good fight” doesn’t have to be all antagonism and shouting, sometimes the problem is more about educating on what isn’t working and creating ways for people to get what they deserve with equity and respect. Until I shared my stories with people who had not had my experiences they could not relate. Once I told my side of things I could see their perspective being challenged and changing. Suddenly what was unfair or wrong was personal as they knew someone who had been directly impacted by a broken system. People want to do the right thing, they want people to be treated fairly and equally, sometimes they just don’t know how to get there…they need to be educated. And we need to educated on the best way to present our case so they can understand and help us change things for the better.

So today I encourage you to fight your own good fight, which may mean taking time to educate and tell your story. You and your experiences may be what helps navigate the people in power to support the good fight. Together we can eventually make things better, it may mean we have to keep educating and telling in order to fight what still needs to change.