What is your type of Change?

We know some people who tend to say “not everyone can save the world” — but why not? I truly believe everybody has to try. Each one of us has their own, unique way of contributing to a brighter future. So lets have a look at how we all can conducive.

How does YOUR healthy planet looks like?

In the book Switch the authors Chip and Dan Heath suggests imagining or drawing a ‘destination postcard’ — something reminding you what specific scenario you’re aiming for. This will keep you motivated, which is really helpful, especially when you’re about to start adjusting some of your old behaviours.

My postcard looks like this: A healthy environment, clean air and flourishing nature. Great variety of different animal and plant species. Feeling good when buying responsibly farmed food, to feed yourself and your loved ones. Clean seas to swim in and tidy beaches to relax on.

Photo by Logan Armstrong on Unsplash

Your version of a future world might look different and that is perfectly fine! Make it as personal as possible, because this is something to motivate YOU.

Choose to take the easy path

Now have a look at the path from your current position to the goal you want to reach. What does it take to get there? It might look like a route covered with big rocks, but don’t worry, we will tell you how to make it a smooth gravel path: the secret is to break down the abstract aim into smaller parts.

So what can you do to have a positive impact on the planet? Here are some general aims people like to drop in conversations:

• Producing less/no greenhouse gas emissions
• Using less/no power from unsustainable sources
• Wasting less/no materials and products
• Minimize your negative impact on the ocean
• … (if you can think of more please feel welcome to share them)

These are vague, big milestones to support the change to a cleaner and greener future. In the following list you can see how I break them down into doable steps. Some of them might suit you better personally, such as changing your eating habits vs. flying less if your job is international.

Producing less/no greenhouse gas emissions

• Take the bike or public transport instead of using your car
• Offer or take a shared ride (e.g. on blablacar.com) if you can’t avoid driving — this will save emissions, divides fuel costs and gets you in contact with like-minded people
• Fly less (and/or shorter distances). Is the beach on the other side of the world, really better than the one on the other side of the country?
• Eat less meat and dairy products, especially beef as it has the highest environmental impact
• Shop locally to avoid unnecessary deliveries

Using less/no power from unsustainable sources

• Switch to a provider of green energy (e.g. solar or wind power coming from your region)
• Install energy-efficient bulbs and make this a standard also for your other devices, like your fridge etc.
• Even small adjustments like washing your clothes in cold water can save power

Wasting less/no materials and products

• Buy only what you really need, these things will make you happy instead of insecure and cluttered
• Reuse and repair what you have
• Trade, give or donate what you don’t need anymore — what’s old for you is new for someone else
• Recycle, to support a circular usage of the natural materials

Minimise your negative impact on the ocean

• Always throw your waste into the bin, even if it means taking the trash with you, to dispose it correctly
• Take 3 for the sea — when you leave the beach, the forest etc. take waste with you (even though it’s not yours)
• Buying clothes made from natural fibres also helps to prevent micro plastic getting from the washing machine into the sea

Some of these points might still seem a bit abstract. This is a chance for you to interpret them the way you like. Put these ideas into your context — make the actions your actions.

Integrate them into your life

As mentioned before, each one of us have different takes on things. This is why the changes should fit your lifestyle. And changing actions in one or two areas of your life is easier than trying to adjust everything at once. When each one of us contributes in our own way, we are complementing each other and can have a big, positive impact together. Here are some examples to illustrate what we mean:

If you’re living close to work you can take the bike instead of the bus or the car. But if you’re living far away that might not be an option for you. In that case, if you like jogging, then you can try out the new plogging trend (collecting trash while you are running). If you’re more comfortable trying out new food, check out the farmers market instead of buying your groceries in the supermarket. Or swap and borrow clothes if you feel like fashion could be your area of change.

As you can see there are many different ways of having a positive influence on our environment. Start with the ones you’re most comfortable with, and then turn them into habits. This will make it even easier for you to act on them and gradually change your life to be more sustainable.

Three elements that can change everything

So how can these changes be grown into habits? Every routine can be broken down into three crucial elements (according to Charles Duhigg): the trigger, the action itself and the reward at the end.

In order to integrate these changes into your life, find a trigger. Something which always starts the action. It can be a specific time of the day, the notification of a habit-app or an old routine that gets extended with another element. For example after finishing the breakfast (trigger) you brush your teeth (action) and wash your face (as a possible extension). Some people take the fact that it’s Monday (trigger) to have a meat-free day (action). You connect a particular moment with a specific action. Further up we’ve been breaking down do-able actions, now you only need to find your personal triggers.

The third element, the reward, plays an important role for implementing new habits. It can be the feeling of freshness and the tingling of the your toothpaste after brushing your teeth. In more environmental terms, it will be a good feeling to live a life directed by your own, conscious decisions and values. We maybe also get some karma-points, and definitely the gratitude of the following generations. These rewards make us feel good about the action we took — and this positive reinforcement intrinsically motivates us to do it again.

Starting new habits mean that we have to build up new neural connections in our brain. That’s the reason why it’s so hard to stick to them in the beginning, because the path is not beaten yet. But what fires together wires together; the more we repeat the action the stronger the connection gets.

Tricks to internalise the habits quicker

As mentioned before, starting a new routine takes consistency. But practicing a small part of a bigger habit already helps implement the neural paths and reinforce the trigger. For example, when you don’t have time to sort all your trash (triggered by the need to waste something) activate the neural connection with one or two types of items (e.g. paper, metal, glass, plastic) which you consciously put in the correct bin. Having integrated the small habits you can then start to scale them up — e.g. start eating vegetarian/plant-based on two days of the week instead of only doing it on Mondays.

Another tip is to tell your friends about the changes you make. This gets you social support to stick to your new habits and reach consistency. And if your friends might not be the right ones to tell, we’re sure your Mum or your like-minded cousin are proud to support you. Another option is to find groups on Facebook / in your location which tackle the same problems as you. There you can find backing as well as inspiration for other actions to take. Social support is a great way to strengthen your habit, so look for it anywhere you can.

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

Others can, so you can do it too!

No matter how small these habits seem, they make a difference — you make a difference. People who are having a big impact now have started with small steps. So enjoy each of yours and have a look how your awareness is influencing your surrounding. Changing gradually is perfectly fine, it doesn’t always need to be dramatic and absolute. If you fall back into your old habits, don’t worry! As you’ve seen it’s easy to pick up small adjustments at anytime again.

So let’s start getting the green ball rolling. Let’s be proud to drive the change, and make decisions based on the environment’s needs, instead of your own. It doesn’t matter how others might react, because if they do, it’s means that they notice. And that’s what we want right? Let’s inspire and support each other so we can be the change we want to see in the world!

Readings, we’d like to recommend

• Switch — Chip Heath & Dan Heath
• Plastic Free July Action Picker — some nice challenges on a plastic free life
• The Power of Habits — Charles Duhigg
• Mini Habits — Stephen Guise