Contribution of Love

What will you invest for those you love?

When pursuing goals for those we love (e.g., ourselves, our family), we readily lavish investments of time and energy for anything that could plausibly contribute toward success - proven causation isn’t needed. 

In sharp contrast, we typically expect proven causation for those that fall outside the scope of our love – but still fit within the range of our concern or obligation. Homeless people. Racial minorities. Kids in other neighborhoods. We expect that our money – including taxes or donations – will cause direct and clear results when applied to them. 

While this certainly sounds reasonable, it actually creates conditions that limit – or prevent –  success. If the scope of our public or nonprofit efforts are limited to the few areas that demonstrate countable and direct causation, we won’t create the conditions that contribute to flourishing over time. Love motivates an approach built around hope and a willingness to do whatever will contribute to better outcomes. Expectation of clear and direct causation motivates an approach that is constrained and limited in ways that paradoxically often contribute to worse outcomes. 

The demand for proven causation from nonprofit or government programs might sound reasonable, but a more loving approach might just be more successful.