I host anti-slavery chocolate parties, and they always begin with a quiz on modern-day slavery. At the end of the quiz, I ask people if they are overwhelmed. Slavery can be overwhelming once you realize how many of the goods and services you consume may have been provided by slaves: chocolate, tomatoes, shrimp, cotton, gold, rugs, smartphones, manicures and more. How can you completely eliminate slave-produced goods and services from your life?

And beyond slavery, what can we do about climate change, plastic in the oceans, world hunger, racism, sexism, violence?

I tell people to think of each of these problems as an elephant. We have a herd of elephantine problems to tackle. If you try to tackle the whole herd at once, you will never succeed. We need to remember that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. I encourage the people who attend my parties to figure out their first bite — perhaps replacing conventional candy bars with fair-trade bars — and to focus on that bite before taking another.

The fact is, not one of us is God. Not one of us can fix all of the world’s problems. Trying to do so will only lead to overwhelm and paralysis.

I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. — Edward Everett Hale

In my weekly “Make a Difference” blog entries, I’m going to mention many ways to make a difference, because there are many, many things we can do. These entries are not a checklist. The goal isn’t perfection, because perfection isn’t attainable, and striving for perfection is a sure recipe for burnout. The goal is simply for each of us to do what we can.

So stop trying to do everything. Stop exhausting yourself by carrying the woes of the world on your shoulders. They are not yours to carry. Instead, look for what one thing you need to do right now, and when you have accomplished that one thing, then you can think about what to tackle next.

You can’t make a difference if you get so overwhelmed that you give up.