FOR THE LOVE OF
SUSTAINABLE SELFTHIS IS FOR YOU
The person trying their hardest with the tools they have been given to be a force for good in the world. A person who does things that might seem strange, weird, gross or out of the ordinary in the name of sustainability. You are a lover of people, planet, animals, and living a life that’s streamlined to focus on the things you really care about.
Your efforts to do good for people and the planet are tireless. There are days when you wonder if there’s any point. If anyone really cares. If the things you do matter. You might doubt yourself. Feel tired. At worst- you might get eco-overwhelmed or burnt out.
This message is a reminder.
What you do matters.
That big changes start from paradigm shifts in self. Changing the way you think, feel, or perceive the world around you to act in thoughtful new ways. Sometimes on the surface, mindful reflection can look like in action. We might be fearful that this time we take for our Sustainable Self is accomplishing little. But each time we stop, reflect, and recharge our batteries, we make space for greater insight and understanding.
We reinvigorate our why, take stock of what we are grateful for, and move forward with clarity and purpose.
You are invited to make space for you.
For the love of Sustainable Self.
Now take a moment to pause, breathe deep, and allow your shoulders to drop away from your ears. Feeling better already?
Let’s get ready for Sustainable Self exploration with love and focus.
Katie
FOR THE LOVE OF SUSTAINABLE SELF
This post is your part of our ‘For the Love of Sustainable Self’ content. If you love it, click the ‘back’ button tfor more information about what Sustainable Self is, and how you can use the tools we have available to take a holistic approach to self-responsibility and support when living life in sustainable style.
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE SELF?
Depending on who you are, where you live, the culture in which you live, your social capital, personal finances, and available time can all impact what taking action in Sustainable Style might look like to your Sustainable Self.
Your Sustainable Self may want to solve all the World’s macro problems. Depending on your social and economic scope, and the country you inhabit, you might accomplish one or more of these things (i.e. solve global poverty, cure cancer, or stop global warming). However, it’s best to keep in mind that some of the wealthiest and most famous folks have tried to solve these issues, failed, or outsourced to panels of experts or the community. So, this is the point where we get real. It’s doubtful you will solve all the world’s problems solo.
Phew! Do you feel relief about this? We hope so!
It’s not your job to fix everything, but it is your duty as a global citizen to care about our collective future and take action based on your values.
VALUES
We choose to use values as the driving force for taking action because our Sustainable Self has a different lived experience from others. Our differences in upbringings, culture, beliefs, traditions, locations, access to education, our abilities, gender, sexuality, the colour of our skin, and our economic status all formulate our unique Sustainable Self. And it’s this unique self, working within our sphere of influence that can ripple out to have a large impact by taking simple, mindful steps on issues we really care about. One mindful day and considered action at a time!
No matter where you’re at in your sustainability journey, it’s challenging to find ways to research, care, reflect, and take continued action (big or small) without some high and low points. For every animal rights petition we sign, community group we found, or piece of litter we remove from the beach, there will be a news story about an endangered species, a member who can’t make it to group meetings and drops out, or another ten pieces of litter on the beach next time we return. These events and stories can cumulate into a sense of eco-overwhelm. A feeling that no matter how hard we try, or how much we care, the problems are too large, we aren’t making an impact, or that nobody really cares what we are doing.
The truth is that what you’re doing does matter as long as it’s in alignment with your values! Our world need people who are working mindfully to improve sustainability outcomes in areas they are passionate about.
USE OUR QUIZ!
Check out out Values Motivators Quiz for guidance on what you value.
CARE FOR SUSTAINBLE SELF
No matter where you’re at in your sustainability journey, it’s challenging to find ways to research, care, reflect, and take continued action (big or small) without some high and low points. For every animal rights petition we sign, community group we found, or piece of litter we remove from the beach, there will be a news story about an endangered species, a member who can’t make it to group meetings and drops out, or another ten pieces of litter on the beach next time we return. These events and stories can cumulate into a sense of eco-overwhelm. A feeling that no matter how hard we try, or how much we care, the problems are too large, we aren’t making an impact, or that nobody really cares what we are doing.
While it can be tempting (especially during these low points) to give up on your sustainability mission, the World really needs each of us to care and act in a self-responsible way! This means knowing ourselves well enough to pick up on stressors and find ways to care for ourselves, be our own personal support crew, and ensure we learn from our mistakes. Because all of us (at one time or another), will follow our sustainability passions so tirelessly (and sometimes solo) that we cause stress or burn ourselves out. Symptoms of this can appear in multiple ways.
SPIRIT
MENTAL
EMOTIONAL
PHYSICAL
- When our bodies are stressed, tired, or burned out it can manifest as structural (like sore feet from pounding the pavement at your protest march), or tired eyes from working all night on your sustainability campaign. It can also manifest as biochemical. This can be linked with short term body stressors (like the activation of our acute stress response), or the impact of nutrient deficiency that arose from being too busy to eat mindfully.
FREE TOOLS YOU CAN USE!
As we’ve already established, we are all living our own unique life paths so we can’t tell you what your stressors might be, or how best to deal with them. What we can do for you is offer the knowledge on how to categorise your types of stress, our worksheet for tracking them, and then tools you can experiment with to see what works for you. Download your worksheet, choose a monitoring period, note when you feel stressed out or overwhelmed, and play with some solutions (try our toolkit for ideas).
This four part system looks at areas of energy that can be depleted:
- Mental,
- Emotional,
- Spirit, and
- Physical (Structural and Biochemical).
Stressors broken down into these specific areas allow for the identification of causes and potential solutions.
CHECK OUT OUT TOOLKIT TO REDUCE ECO-OVERWHELM
SHORTCUTS
LEARN WHAT SUSTAINABLE SELF is
PERSONALISE YOUR NOTEBOOK FOR REFLECTION
MAKE YOUR OWN NATURAL BEAUTY CONCOCTIONS
CONTEMPLATING SELF-WORTH AND SUSTAINABILITY
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30 Ways you Can CHANGE THE WORLD (CHEAPLY)
Does your budget prevent you from taking action in Sustainable Style? Eco-switches can seem expensive or inaccessible. Especially if you’re on a student budget, live in a rented home, or struggle to pay your bills on time, however they can be affordable… Keep Reading
PROGRESSION OF SUSTAINABLE SELF OVER TIME
Sustainable self isn’t static. As we move through, our life change is inevitable. To be responsible citizens of earth, critical thought, mindful reflection, and self-assessment are essential for change in the right direction. This means continually…Keep Reading
OUR FREE MAGAZINE
It’s the comprehensive monthly highlight of the suite of tools we have designed to help simplify sustainability so you can take action on the things you care about (minus the eco-overwhelm). The content ties together our ‘Take Action’ focus theme. In a fast-paced media-saturated landscape, we hope that this way of sharing will provide you access to all our useful tools, without feeling lost or overwhelmed. Each month the latest copy of the magazine and our most recent resources are sent to your inbox (you will only receive one email a month from us). You will get reminders via our social media channels of what content we’re championing throughout the month.
We hope that you enjoy getting your Sustainable Style fix in this easy-to-read format and that it gives you a break from the abundance of social media updates and overflowing inboxes we now navigate daily
.