23 sympathize with the devastation you have seen? No doubt, you would be motivated to donate if you could, or call on your representatives to give aid on the national level. But are you likely to recall that island to mind after a month has passed? Are you likely to know how their recovery efforts have gone six months later? Now imagine that you used to live on Teraviso. How would your reaction differ? And if your family still lived there, would your concern and involvement in rebuilding the island be greater? This illustrates the point that how personally connected we are to a cause affects how deeply we care about it, and how deeply we care about it determines how involved we become. In studying what motivates people to get involved, research has shown that being personally affected or knowing people who are personally affected makes a difference. Our degree of connection to a cause leads to three levels of involvement. Interest – You have caught a person’s attention. They may take a simple action, such as signing a petition or making a donation because they want to show you they care. You’ve stirred their sympathy, but without adding further motivation, they may not have any lasting involvement. Caring – The person has empathy for what you and other people with MS go through. They care about you, a family member, or friend affected by the disease, or recognize that it could affect people they love. They may consistently support your efforts by getting involved as a volunteer at events, sharing information with others to raise awareness, or helping the MS cause financially. Passion–Aperson is motivated bya belief that the cause is important, knowledge that their efforts make a difference, and love for a person (or people) affected by MS. A person who is passionate about the cause will be dedicated to helping you find better days for people with MS. You can count on them to support your efforts and perhaps even start their own. So what lessons can we take from these levels? First, that the people who have MS or a loved one with MS are the most easily motivated to action for the MS cause. Second, we learn that while sympathy (feeling bad for someone’s struggles) is a little motivating, empathy (being able to relate to someone’s struggles) is a powerful motivator. Third, feeling like the action being asked of you is important and will have concrete results inspires passionate involvement. Let’s look at prac- tical ways we can use this information. 1. Start with people who already have reason to care. Ask the people closest to you to support your efforts. 2. When reaching out to acquaintances and people without a direct relationship to the cause, help them to understand what living with MS is like. Don’t try to tug at heartstrings, but give a realistic picture of the challenges and how your efforts are meant to improve the situation. 3. Regular communication about the importance of the effort, the progress made, and any end results will build passion for the cause.