"Tipping" the scales in our favor

Writer Malcolm Gladwell coined the term “tipping point” to describe “the dramatic moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire.”

In his best-selling book, “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference,” Gladwell reminds us that it doesn’t take much to create dramatic change – for better or worse. A little gold box on a record club advertisement “can suddenly make record buying by mail seem irresistible.” On the other hand, it only takes a single sick person to start an epidemic of the flu.

Do the tipping point theory and Gladwell’s other key principles — the Law of the Few (social epidemics are created and sustained by very small groups of extraordinary people), the Stickiness Factor (messages must be memorable to move us to action) and the Power of Context (epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur) — apply to CFS?

I believe so. Those of us holding this issue of The CFIDS Chronicle represent a relatively tiny subset of the population. But we’re a group of people who share an exceptional commitment to a cause.

We understand that we won’t win the battle to conquer CFS on merit alone. There are thousands of illnesses to fight, thousands of worthy causes to support. So we’re taking steps to educate and build awareness about the seriousness of CFS. And we’re working to “package” the right message, one that resonates, cuts through the clutter, motivates key audiences and turns passive support into action.

A message that matters. A message that inspires people to ask, “How can I help?” — this will be our tipping point.

The CFIDS community has fought for years to defeat this devastating and debilitating illness. At times bureaucracies and beliefs seem immovable. They are not. As the Greek mathematician and scientist Archimedes said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

Or at least get it tipping in the right direction.

Jamie L. Davis
Director of Development and COO