NEW YEAR

NEW CONSYOUMER

CONSIDERED LIVING

Hi There!

If you’ve found your way to this page of resources for the first time, I just wanted to say a big (warm and summery) welcome.

Each January here at Sustainability in Style we explore the reoccurring series New Year, New ConsYOUmer. This theme began way back when this site was my personal blog. It was born from my interpretation of the common self-improvement catch cry of ‘New Year, New You’. A slogan that’s founded in a desire for New Year’s resolve to change for the better. As part of my (at the time of inception) personal exploration of Sustainable living, I changed the narrative of the slogan to look at the way I was consuming the world around me, from fashion to waste, to how I was interacting with the natural surroundings on my daily walk. Resources on this page reflect the diversity of this interpretation.

We here at Sustainability in Style believe that you can be a ‘new’ you this year if you choose to do so. However, we think you’re pretty perfect just as you are, and that the resolutions or goals aside, the new year can be harnessed as an opportunity for mindful reflection on how you interact with the world around you.

Welcome the New Year with authenticity and big love.

Katie

Home

How do you consume nature? This resource is a mindful reflection for your Sustainable Self designed to help you consider your approach to wandering the Earth and consuming its natural beauty. We have tips for all, from the animal lovers who enjoy walking pets or bird watching, to those busy folks who want to maximise their time with simple tips for mindful walking.

Meditation is good for you.

Why?

Science says so!

Not that you need to be a rocket scientist to work out that taking a little quiet reflection time for yourself each day can make you feel amazing.

According to a plethora of scientific studies (some of which I have included links too if you are interested in reading journal articles) mediation has been shown to reduce distress, elevate moods, self-maturity and creativity levels, and alter the neural connectivity of your brain. These listed benefits are just scratching the surface of the literature available! A study conduced by the Social and Ecological Sustainability movement (SESM) has shown that there is a link between personal wellbeing and planetary wellbeing in people who participate in mindfulness meditation practice. Which ties in perfectly with this months NYNC theme of including wellbeing, wisdom, wonder, and giving into our lives as a measure of our personal success and to create a happier life for ourselves and others.

The SESM study also suggested that people who didn’t have a ‘spiritual practice’ (like meditation) in their life may struggle to align personal lifestyle choices with environmentally aware lifestyle choices.

MINDFUL WALKING

For those that don’t have a regular practice or are worried that they don’t have time to meditate, a wonderful way to get a bit of ‘meditation on the go’ is ‘Mindful Walking’. Mindful Walking, according to ‘The Art of Mindful Walking’ by Adam Ford, is taking yourself on a journey (even if your journey is a walk to the bus stop on the way to work) with mindful and attentive regard to:

the activities of the body,
sensations or feelings,
the activities of the mind, and
ideas, thoughts and conceptions.

By taking a journey with your self in the present moment Ford suggests that you can ‘avoid sleepwalking through life’. He also suggests that, like any form of meditation or mindfulness practice, that ‘thoughtful walking’ will cause thoughts to naturally arise in your mind. The journey can stir up as many things as it settles.

He suggests the best thing to do it ask yourself at times of deep thought ‘is this my body taking my mind for a walk- or is it my mind that is in control and doing the walking’. This will bring your mind back to the action of walking.

VALUES MOTIVATORS AND MINDFUL WALKING

We know (and celebrate) that everyone’s approach to living life in Sustainable Style is a little bit different. While some of us are power-walking from one place to the next, others might be fungi hunting. Our (TOTALLY FREE) Values Motivators Quiz helps you identify what motivates you to live life in Sustainable Style, and our huge collection of free and paid resources can guide you in making Values-based choices for living life in Sustainable Style.

ANIMAL WELFARE AND COMPASSION

If you’re motivated by Animal Welfare and Compassion Motivators, you might want to think about ways to incorporate your pets into your mindful walking adventures. This could be carving out special time for walking the dog (remembering your dog waste bags) where you can leave the headphones at home and be really present to your dog’s feelings and emotions. If wildlife is your think find a way to make your wandering count. In my local area many people use their beach walk time to keep watch for turtle tracks, and reporting sightings to turtle care groups. Watching the sand for tracks is a meditative and connective experience.

SOCIAL EQUALITY

If you’re motivated to walk mindfully in ways that support others to live a comfortable and happy life, you might want to consider using your daily walks to train for a charity fundraiser. You could also use your meditative walking to clock up Sweatcoins to donate to social fundraising courses. If lending a listening ear is your thing, choose to invite your friends in need for walk and talk catch-ups. Pepper the listening with mindfulness moments where you point out features in nature for reflection (a beautiful tree, flowers, the shape of clouds in the sky).

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

If you’re motivated to do good for the planet use your mindful walks to collect litter. Focus your attention on items that are out of place and allow the act of litter collection to be your mindful meditation. Those who are passionate about the environment can benefit from being fully immersed in it. Recharge your batteries by switching off your devices and wander in nature without distraction.

SIMPLICITY AND STREAMLINED LIFESTYLE

If you’re a busy person try to find ways to fit mindful walking into your to-do list by integrating it with tasks. Park your car a little further away from the shops and allow yourself to take deep breaths and mindful footsteps as you walk to the store for provisions. Choose to have meetings or play dates as a ‘walk-and-talk’ in nature. Pay attention to the sensations around you as you converse. The sun on your skin, the breeze in your hair, and the smell of nature.

BE ACCOUNTABLE

LET’S GET STARTED

We suggest that you begin your New Year, New ConsYOUmer journey by checking out out Values Motivators Quiz to work out what you really value.

TAKE THE QUIZ

SUSTAINABILITY SIMPLIFIED

Download our free New Year, New ConsYOUmer worksheet to inspire transformative thought processes when making plans for the year ahead. The worksheet shows you an easy way to break large scale visions down to ‘go-for-it’ approaches you can action today, for a better tomorrow.

This is your New Year, New ConsYOUmer worksheet designed to get you thinking about how you can take action in Sustainable Style this year. We take your big-picture ideas and simplify them down into smaller ‘go-for-it’ actionable steps!

PRESS PLAY

A playlist crafted to get you thinking about how you choose to participate in our consumer society. Some songs have obvious links, and others are more nuance.

KISS ECO-OVERWHELM GOODBYE

Has the New Year got you feeling a bit stressed out? We’ve got you covered with FREE resources to help you combat eco-overwhelm.

Click here to find out about our unique approach to caring for your Sustainable Self (including our eight-part toolkit) as you live life in Sustainable Style.

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