365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

225 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: Yesterday, I wrote about skills. I learn best with this cycle: 1) I do something 2) I reflect on the result 3) I learn what worked and what not 4) I plan how to improve next time And the good thing is, I cannot fail: even if it didn't work out, I learned something.

224 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: Already as a child, I was eager to learn. What I didn't expect, is that many different skills and knowledge I acquired over the years come in handy doing this Challenge. So, I'm glad I learned for life and am excited to apply them every day. (And yes, that's me 😊)

221 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I just participated in #EarthHour2020. Sitting in the dark, I felt gratefulness for all the things I can do because of the abundance in this world. And I hope future generations can enjoy earth as much as we do. That's why I know my Challenge is worth the effort.

221 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I know this reasoning is incorrect: Swans are white + this swan is black -> swans being white is nonsense. Therefore, I also believe this reasoning is incorrect : the earth is getting warmer + Antarctica just had a cold record -> global warming is nonsense.

220 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: To get rid of pain in a crisis, something has to change. But although there is pain, there also are costs related to change: uncertainty, judgments, effort, money. I believe that change is unlikely when the experienced costs are higher than the experienced pain. I also believe that in the climate crisis, we haven't reached the tipping point. So, for change to happen, the pain should increase or the cost decrease. The pain will increase when we continue like this (e.g. floods); with my Challenge, I contribute to reducing the cost.

218 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I'm not a geese expert, so it would take me ages to identify this one. I'd prefer to ask experts and base my judgment on their analyses. They might be wrong, but are more likely right than me. In the same way, I judge the criticality of the Corona and climate crises.

217 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: Corona makes people worry about our economy. That makes sense, as business depends on a healthy social system. Also, a healthy social system can't exist without a healthy environment. So, to make business work in the long run, we need to take care of our environment.

216 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: In an unpleasant situation I can do 3 things to feel better: 1) do something about it (act), 2) leave the situation (abandon), 3) make the most out of it (accept). For the Corona crisis I stay at home and disinfect, but otherwise accept; for the climate crisis I act.

215 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: As the current Corona situation is for many of us also financially a challenging situation, I added the tag "Saving money" to relevant posts on http://SustainableDecisions.eu . This helps you finding items to reduce expenses. The picture shows you where to go.

214 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I notice a pattern in changing my habits: initially a habit is unconscious. Then this habit becomes conscious through reflection/inspiration. I then change my habit and am conscious of it. Finally, after practice, my new habit becomes unconscious and easy to keep up.

213 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I believe that the Corona crisis is taken more seriously than the climate crisis because of its speed. Humans are not good at seeing slow changes. Do you see anything moving in the video? I do only when the video ends and all changes are suddenly undone by rewinding.

212 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: Already in the beginning of my Challenge, I noticed that it is hard to measure how much positive impact my actions have. I believe that it is more than I realize. In this video, I explain why:

211 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: Today, at home, I noticed a similarity in my reaction to the Corona and climate crises: as soon as it's clear to me WHY it is important to act responsibly, it is suddenly a lot easier to see HOW I can contribute and what habits to change overnight.

210 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I wrote before that my thoughts influence my feelings, which influence my actions. And actions change results. So different thoughts allow different results. In my case: "I can make a difference" > I feel confident > I take continuous action > I do make a difference.

209 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: Yesterday, I wrote that my thoughts influence my feelings. My feelings in turn influence my actions: when I feel good because I believe I can make a difference, I have more energy to change my habits than when I feel anxious; also, more energy helps to keep me going.

208 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I know that my thoughts influence my feelings. For example: when my train is delayed I can think: - "I now don't have to hurry" -> 😁 or - "I will miss my connection" -> 😡 This knowledge helps me when I get anxious about climate change: "I do everything I can" -> 😏

207 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: Time seems to go really slowly since I started my Challenge. For example: when I came back from a walk today, it felt like I'd been gone for weeks. And last Christmas feels like years ago. I believe this is because my days are so intense. Fascinating! And, I love it!

206 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: Because of my Challenge, I'm reaching a crossroad in my life: I'm currently talking to colleagues from the sustainability department about joining them, so that I cannot only pursue this topic in my spare time, but also at work. That would be amazing! :-D

204 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I made this frame two years ago after doing a personal development course. In that course, I found out how important it is for me to leave a huge, positive footprint in this world. But I didn't yet know how, so I'm glad that I do know now: 365 Sustainable Decisions.

203 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: I noticed that changing my habits is easier when I use if-then statements. For example: if I see a car in front of me breaking, then I let go of the accelerator pedal (#201). This is because the occurrence of the if-part triggers me to think of the then-part. 

195 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge:  This weekend, I went on a trip with my boyfriend to recharge my batteries. The beauty of nature and the adventures it allows, showed me how worth it is to change my daily habits. I now have more energy again to let it snow ( see video of Day 183 ).

195 days into my 365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge: Yesterday, an article was published about my Challenge:  https://goodmenproject.com/environment-2/try-the-365-sustainability-challenge-kpkn/ I'm very grateful that my work is appreciated in many different ways!