How ready are you for change? Are you willing to accept that many of the things we’re so used to today (cars, disposable items, gas stoves, unlimited travel, fill in the blank___) might have to go in order to create a better tomorrow?
In almost every climate conversation, we forget to talk about the most important thing of all — the fact that we have to choose change! Sure, we talk about all the changes that we’re trying to avoid by fighting climate change, but miss the fact that in order to do so, we need to actively choose change and start bringing a different kind of world closer.
Embracing change isn’t easy, especially when you’re faced with a threat. If a storm was building on the horizon back in stone age days, you wouldn’t go exploring neighboring lands — you would crawl deep into your cave and hope that you could stay safely tucked away until the storm had passed!
As species, we’re programmed to retreat and hold on tight to what we know to be safe when things get scary.
However, this storm isn’t going anywhere, and if we hide away for too long, chances are the world around us has changed so much that when we crawl back out, it’ll be hard to live there at all. Like Greta Thunberg says — “Change is coming whether we like it or not!”
But what if ‘change’ is the best thing that could ever happen to us, we just have to wake up and see it? To actively work for what we want to happen instead of trying to avoid what we don’t want?
Maybe what it all comes down to is that we have to choose change before change chooses us! And if we dared to let go, how can we rethink everything and build a world much more beautiful than anything we’ve ever seen?
You are the change! Activate it now, and start making history in 2022!
This Week’s Challenge — Understanding Your Power to Choose Change
Here are three exercises you can do to strengthen your “change power” starting today!
Start by recognizing that you’re much better at adapting to change than you might think. For this, try to think of at least five times in the past where you were either scared to do something but did it anyway, or when a change was forced upon you and you didn’t have any choice. Maybe you got fired, had to move towns, or the love of your life left you heartbroken? Perhaps you just went through two years of a pandemic with all sorts of changes you definitely did NOT choose … oh wait, you did!
Think about how you felt before the “change”, and how you felt having gone through it. Were you capable of more than you gave yourself cred for? Are you, in fact, stronger and better at change thank you might think?
Use those five incidents as anchors to remind you how strong and adaptable you actually are to help you through more changes in the future!
Do the “what if” exercise. On a piece of paper, make a list of “What if___’s” and don’t hold yourself back. Remember last week’s challenge to imagine the unimaginable? Use that practice here too — dare to dream without borders!
Try to write at least ten. It could be “What if get a job in digital design and get to move to New York?” or “What if we find a way to travel without putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere?” or “What if we created a society that’s built on love, community, and trust?” Dream big and write bold things — there are no limits to your “What if___’s”
Start activating change in your own life! For this, go back to the exercise in Challenge #4 — Retruthing
Have fun with this and allow yourself to feel powerful and strong! You are a true light in this world and you should use it to shine the path towards better tomorrows. And that right there is exactly what we’ll get into in our last challenge that goes live next week…
This was the last of the 10 Climate Optimist challenges! You find all the challenges in the newsletter feed and a shortlist of all the ten here. Any thoughts on previous topics or lessons learned through the different steps that you’d like to share? Please reach out!
Sending love, optimism, and curiosity on your journey to change!
Xx, AT
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