Two types of change
When Covid19 first concealed us in an uncomfortably heavy blanket, I watched in sincere awe as the world came to an absolute stop. I asked myself: How can you get this many people and this many countries to do the same thing at the same time? I thought that was impossible!” I realized then that I was onto something, that I was about to get one step closer in figuring out this climate question I have been pondering on for so many years.
My big Covid lightbulb moment (don’t we all have one?) was that there are two types of change: fear-based change and positively incentivized change. Fear-based change means that we change in order to avoid something we don’t want to happen, an anti-goal of some sort. Getting sick and dying from a deadly virus is an anti-goal, for example, ending up in a climate apocalypse is another one. What categorizes a F-B change is that we tend to act fast and that we’re driven by emotions like panic and fear. It’s a fight or flight kind of thing!
What we need to remember with fear-based change, however, is that we need two very important things for it to actually work. First, we need an anti-goal that feels scary on a personal level, then we need to pair that with a clear idea of what to do to avoid that anti-goal. This was showcased brilliantly with Covid when the whole world feared the same virus and everyone was asked to simply wash their hands and stay at home.
Scary threat + simple, clear actions = voila, massive change!
With climate change, however, we’re stuck in a gooey mess. We’re trying to install change by pushing these fear-based incentives (act now or we’ll soon find ourselves in a place of no return!) while lacking the two essential parts for it to work - relatability and clear action!
Sure, we all fear climate change, but for most of us it feels like something that will happen in the future or that is happening to polar bears or people in other parts of the world. Not until just recently has climate change actually felt like a real threat to all of us, which means that the urgent trigger for action isn’t there, nor are there clear directions of what to do to avoid it. This, paired with a bunch of other psychological barriers (which I will get deeper into in a future post) brings us to a standstill. Panicked, yes, but absolutely helpless.
But that won’t change the fact that climate change is here and that we must indeed do all we can to stop it. So luckily there is another way to get people to change. I call it positively incentivized change.
Williamsburg Bridge, taken by me this morning
Time to get excited!
The reason I say it’s essential that we change the narrative on climate change so that we can act from courage and excitement, not fear, is because it is. This change - the positively-incentivized one - depends on it.
You know this kind of change very well. It comes from hard work and commitment, fueled by a deep desire from within to reach some sort of goal. The biggest difference between the two types of change is that for one of them, we try to avoid an anti-goal, and for the other, we work hard to get to a desired destination.
You’ve done this when you’ve studied for a test, learned how to ride a bike, or changed your lifestyle to live happier or lose weight. You don’t do these things because you dread what’s on the other end, you do it because the outcome excites you! So what if instead of fearing the future where climate change has gone absolutely off the charts, we put all gears in high to drive towards a future we desire? What if instead of doing all we can do to avoid change, we focus all our intention on making a different kind of world take form!
Not worse, just different. And who knows, maybe even better?
The stone age is over
There’s a quote that I love by a renowned American architect, William McDonough:
“The stone age didn’t end because humans ran out of stone, it ended because it was time for a rethink about how we live.”
We’re nearing the end of an era and it’s time we surrender to that fact so that we can let go and move on. The industrial revolution has been great and brought us a lot of wonderful things. One of those things is advanced technologies in science, which has led us to have a deeper understanding of what’s actually going on.
It’s a fool’s game to see the facts and still choose not to move. We know that climate change is real - the new IPCC report said that without room for doubt or denial - so we have to take that information and run with it!
Photo: Pat Whelen
Join the revolution!
There are so many incredible people on this planet working tirelessly to co-create a better world and all you have to do is choose to do so with them. You have a role to play on this journey, even if that means simply shifting your mindset to begin. What if instead of freaking out every time we hear the word “climate change”, we see it as a wonderful opportunity to reinvent and think again? What if what comes out on the other side of this tremendously huge challenge is a world more beautiful than any of us alive today have ever seen, and that we’ll look back at these decades with wonder and gratitude, maybe even pride?
It is not time to give up! It is time to roll up our sleeves and get to some serious action. But now when you’ve learned about the two types of change, catch yourself when in despair and ask the question: “How can I shift the narrative on this? How can I use this knowledge and choose to embrace change with curiosity, courage, and excitement?”
How will you show up as a climate optimist today?
What is something you can do right now - starting from your home - that will have a positive impact on your life and our climate? Leave a comment below of what climate actions you’re taking (even a simple mindset shift is a great start) and invite others to do the same. Actions grow when shared with others!