9 Ways To ACTUALLY Save The Planet

The earth is at a critical stage. People like you want to help the planet and do something meaningful. I get it. I often hear people saying ‘I want to help save the planet’. However, it can be rather overwhelming when the problem is so big and you feel like your actions won’t make a difference.

But you need to become confident and feel like you are powerful. If you are truly passionate about helping the world and its people, you need to get serious. Don’t expect it to be easy. Creating big change will take hard work.

There are only two requirements for you to help save the world (and no, it’s not a degree):

• Passion & drive
• Determination & persistence

9 Ways To Save The Planet

So here is what you could do to actually help the planet in a real way. Some of these are harder than others so it just depends on how much you care and how passionate you are. At the start of anything, you will feel like you’re not having an impact and that what you are doing isn’t enough. But trust the process. Big things come with time. Don’t allow yourself to give up.

1. Individual Action Matters

I always emphasise this to people. Your individual actions matter.

I have a motto which goes like this: ‘Learn, Change, Inspire’. Let me break it down for you. First, you will first need to educate yourself and learn more about what you want to change. Once you know what you need to do, you can then change your lifestyle and daily habits accordingly. Some changes will be bigger than others and some might take more determination than others. Step by step you will reach whatever goal you set for yourself.

Finally, it’s time to inspire. Tell the world what you’re doing and inform those around you. Start inspiring and more people will join you on this transformational journey.

There are so many things you can change in your everyday life that could have a positive impact on the planet. Here are just a few:

• Switch to a plant-based diet
• Reduce your waste (or become zero-waste)
• Stop buying from fast fashion brands
• Reduce your car journeys
• Shop less, but better

Become more conscious of your actions and the impact they have on the world. Align what you do with your ethics and morals. While these might not seem like much, all together they can have an impact in the long-term.

2. Speak Up

If you want to save the planet or at least protect it from any future harm, then you need to be confident in yourself and actually speak up. Don’t be afraid of other’s opinions. If you truly want to do something big in your lifetime, then you need to put yourself out there. There no time to hide away and contemplate whether you should or not.

Embrace the fear. It’s good to be scared. Just don’t let that fear pull you down, use it to drive you forward.

3. Start A Project

What skills do you have? Leverage those skills and start a small side project. It could be a simple as starting a little blog, mastering a craft, or starting an Instagram page. That little project could develop into something unimaginable in a few years if you continually work on it.

Who knows what it could become. The only way to find out is to start.

So start a small side hustle in your spare time. Don’t waste your time doing nothing all day. Additionally, this project could give you the motivation to take bigger steps in the future and perhaps turn it into a business. You are capable of amazing things. Don’t underrate yourself.

Start developing your skills yourself and your future self (and maybe future generations too) will thank you.

4. Dedicate Your Life To A Career You Love

This might sound like a cliché, but let your passion find you. Explore different paths in order to find what you love the most. If you love what you do in life, then you will have that drive to work hard and do meaningful work. Don’t choose a job just for the sake of having a job.

You might not find your ideal job right away but that’s normal. The key is to not let yourself get comfortable in a certain position. Move around, take risks, and find what you want to dedicate your life to. It will be worth it.

Never settle for less. Strive for more. You need to be ambitious in this world.

5. Or Become An Entrepreneur

What better way to save the planet than starting a business? Take charge of your own life and start working for yourself.

But I must warn you. This won’t be easy. The road will be long and will require hard-work. Lately, the life of an entrepreneur has been romanticized by social media, telling everyone how great it is. But it doesn’t emphasize how hard this choice is. I’m not telling you this to scare you. The opposite actually. I’m telling you this to motivate you. The biggest the risk, the bigger the reward.

At the end of the day, it could become the most fulfilling thing in your life.

If you have an idea for a business and truly believe in it, take the risk. Even if you fail, it won’t be the end of the world. You can get up and keep going.

It’s better to do it anyway so you don’t regret it later.

6. Stop Waiting To Feel Ready

Stop giving yourself excuses and telling yourself that you’re not ready. You will never feel ready. That’s why they say the best time to start is now. The planet won’t save itself. So get out there and start.

There’s no perfect time to start a business, to follow your dreams, or to change. By waiting for the right time, you are robbing yourself of precious time. Just sit down and get to work. Whatever it is that you want to do, start it today.

7. Focus On Yourself

I’m not saying be selfish but you always come first. So work on becoming a better person. Learn new things, meditate, adopt a positive mindset, and work on yourself. Doing this will attract like-minded people to you that could help you in your cause.

Moreover, don’t worry about what others are doing and if people are doing bigger things than you right now. Focus on yourself and your dream, and soon you might reach your goals.

8. Find Like-Minded People

As I mentioned above, finding people with the same goals is so important. Choose a small circle of friends who want to achieve similar things to you in life. When you find them, it will a game-changer. A group of people, working together towards the same goal could create such a huge impact on society if they are motivated enough.

You won’t find them while sitting watching TV. Go to meet-ups, join clubs, or simply go into the real world with a mission. Talk to as many people as possible. They won’t all end up in your small circle of friends but you could learn a lot from talking to a variety of people.

9. Work On Your Creativity

Creativity used to be underestimated. However, recently companies have started valuing individuals with creatives minds more.

Most people reading this are going to think ‘But I’m not a creative person’. That’s not true though. We are all born creative. The majority of children are highly creative. But as we grow older, society sucks that creativity out of us. The good news is that you can get it back.

Like with every skill, you need to practice it to get better at it. I truly believe that it’s creativity that will get us out of this critical situation we are in.

Creativity is humanity’s strongest asset because it’s what has made us advance to this point. If we use it for a good cause, creativity could after all save the world and the planet as a whole.

Still Feeling Lost?

Okay, this might seem like a lot of information and as I said before, it can be very overwhelming at the beginning. When you are feeling like this and that it’s all too much, take a step by and breathe. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

The key to changing the world and saving the planet is taking small steps. You won’t achieve anything meaningful overnight, no matter how much Instagram tries to convince you of that.

Conclusion

Get out there and just start. Motivate yourself to become a better person and do things no one has done before. No one can do it for you. It all comes down to you. Saving the world won’t be a one-man job. Still, you can be amongst the community that is trying the save and protect the planet.

The planet is in dire need of driven and passionate people because they are the only ones that will be able to protect us from a future ecological disaster.

If I were to give you one piece of advice it would be this: Don’t underestimate yourself. You are more capable than you think.

All images from Unsplash

Originally published at https://www.terramovement.com on January 5, 2021.