There are times when we feel inspired. Times when we feel outraged. Times when we feel hopeful, and times, even, when we are afraid. 

But there are other times when our feelings shut off. And it is just as important, in those times, that we stay focused on the task at hand. As Priya points out, in this wonderful post, "Doing the small things can make a big difference." Check out the full post below: 

Being a part of a growing social movement means having a strong vision for one’s purpose. It means being dedicated to Animal Liberation. It means having passion and conviction. It means waking up every day with a dream of every animal being free from the oppression they have so long been victims of. It means being able to look into the eyes of animals and promise them that they are not alone and that we are trying hard.

More than often, however, building powerful social movements can mean doing tedious tasks, having a strong work ethic, and taking care of the little things—the nuts and bolts of the operation—behind the scenes.

Where is the emotion in my words? Where are the tears running down my eyes? Where, I begin to ask myself, did the passion go?

Emotions can be distracting. It’s easy to personalize larger issues (especially for me) and distract myself from being effective. Having an emotional response to such a deeply emotional issue is important, but only if those emotions—anger and sadness, for example,—are being used to motivate and inspire.

Doing the small things can make a big difference. Let’s take contacting people for example—this isn’t exactly a heartwarming or exciting thing to do, but it’s important, regardless. If it’s not done, nobody shows up to an action.

It’s okay to not always be in the spotlight. When we allow ourselves to step away from the microphone and take the chair behind the scenes, we’re creating space for others to speak out, a space for others to feel empowered.

It’s been a while since I cried over a video posted on Facebook of animals in pain. I’ve actually slept fairly well at night—a contrast to days where I used to wake up crying, feeling sick and saddened. It’s been a while since I’ve let the sad reality disturb me and take me to a completely different emotional level.

Does that mean that I’ve given up and stopped caring? No. It means that I’ve been channeling my emotional energy in a different direction—a direction where I know I can be more productive for myself and especially for the animals. No one’s being helped if I’m hurting—intellectually or emotionally.

Passion matters, in fact, passion changes everything. The way I see it though, passion really matters when it’s motivating us to persevere and keep ourselves moving forward on our path, our path to Animal Liberation.

Passion matters in those moments when I ask myself, “Are you doing what matters to you most, Priya?” And I reply to myself, “I can’t think of anything more important.”