After reflection, really months of reflection, I've decided that this organization is difficult to promote for various and numerous reasons, which I have no doubt discussed in many posts before this one. Today, I will give my personal belief, not an acknowledgement of areas that need to be improved.
It is my personal feeling that Optimist Clubs, and thereby Optimist International, have lost their purpose*, and my struggle to help them find it leaves me feeling apathetic. I'm not burned out. I have plenty of energy to share and even more knowledge and experience to guide me and others; however, it no longer gives me joy to do so. I know so many others who have drifted away for this reason, even if they wrapped their departure in a more palatable excuse. Lack of joy is why this blog remains a dated relic of how vital the organization once was.
I'll continue to wait for that call that will never come, asking me to help lead us away from extinction. Until then, I'll accede that the purpose of this blog has run its course. No mission creep for me. Should the organization return to providing joy, I'll return to telling about it.
Thank you, readers, for your faith in me.
*When an organization loses its purpose, it suffers a fundamental loss of direction, motivation, and strategic focus, often leading to stakeholder distrust, high staff turnover, and declining influence. In the non-profit sector, this "mission drift" or inactivity can lead to the IRS revoking tax-exempt status because the entity is no longer serving its public, charitable, or educational mission. (Director Prep, Candid, and the IRS)
