Episode 55: Where Do I Begin?

Tackling enormous problems like climate change, plastic pollution, and unsustainable fisheries can feel overwhelming and near impossible. The mental and physical toll of not knowing where to get started can really weigh us down. But it is important for us to feel hopeful and know that we can make a difference. That is why in today’s episode, I want to share some manageable ways for you to get started to live a greener life and work towards sustainable wellbeing. Many of us feel an internal conflict when our values don’t align with our actions. With the busyness of everyday life, it is not always that easy to get around to doing the things we want to do. During this show, I explore five simple steps that can help you work towards creating a more sustainable world. Some of what I touch on includes goal setting, determining and selecting actions, and putting them into practice. Given the magnitude of these problems, we might fall into the trap of believing that our small actions are not enough. They are, and we should celebrate all the steps we take to make our world better. If you want to get started on a greener life, this show will offer you the easy steps you need to get going.  

Key Points From This Episode:

• There are so many pressing issues that it can be very hard to even know where to begin.
• Why we feel internal conflict when we do not live out our values.
• A jar metaphor that relates to how we live our lives and the actions we take.
• Sustainable wellbeing means caring for yourself and the planet at the same time.
• When choosing your top three sustainability issues, don’t overthink them, and write them on a sticky note.
• Brainstorm actions you could take to work toward these goals.
• Tips on ranking potential actions both in terms of impact and how likely you are to do them.
• Examples of goals and actions and the quadrants you would put actions into.
• How to find ways to integrate the actions you identified as important into your life.
• It is important to break things into achievable chunks in order to not feel overwhelmed.
• Some actions will be once-off, others will be ongoing.
• Why attaching new actions to existing activities helps them stick better.

Key Messages: 

1. Lots of people feel like it’s hard to find the right place to start. Whether you are new to environmental actions or you have a degree in a related field, it’s difficult to know where to begin but there are some simple steps. 
2. Step one: determine three overarching goals that are meaningful to you. 
3. Step two: brainstorm all of the actions you could take towards your goals.
4. Step three: rank those actions in terms of how impactful they are and how likely you are to do them.
5. Step four: select actions that are important and that you are likely to do and integrate them into your life. If they are once-off actions, schedule them. If they are habits, attach it to an existing part of your routine. If you are swapping one action for another, reduce the barriers to make this possible.
6. Step five: literally keep your goals in sight with sticky notes and visualizations of the end goal.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Kristina Hunter Flourishing

Kristina Hunter Flourishing Resources

The Unexpected Giftbox

Headspace

Tiny Habits

BJ Fogg

First Things First