1. Only change a couple of things at a time. Changing our habits is HARD, and requires a lot of energy and concentration as it’s actually the opposite of what our brains naturally want to do! Keep it simple and just make a couple of manageable changes at a time. Move on to doing more once these are established habits. It seems slow, but IT WILL ACTUALLY WORK, so you’ll get there quicker in the long run! (and it’ll seem a lot less stressful.
2. Don’t aim for perfect. Perfect is paralysing and you’ll be constantly giving yourself grief and guilt for not being there. Take a deep breath and forgive yourself for where you’re at. You can only do what you can do. It’s what we do from here that matters, and we’re going to take simple steps forward, taking manageable, imperfect action.
When you feel like you’re not doing enough, remember where you came from and remind yourself of all the changes you’ve made. I bet you’ll see that you are making a difference (even if it’s small).
3. This is about choices and options. A simple way to get into eco-friendly habits is to ask yourself whether there is a better option whenever you buy or use something. The answer will almost always be yes, but some will be really simple, like choosing the plastic-free item next to it, and others will require a lot more effort. Forgive yourself the harder ones for now, and make a couple of the simple swaps.
4. This is a mindset change. Initially, you’re going to forget to think about it and forget to buy or use your eco options. That's ok - it happens to all of us. Have faith that it builds and that each time you remind yourself to use it or think about whether there is a better choice, you’re more likely to think about it again next time – it’s a mental habit. Keep going and you’ll soon be automatically wondering where something came from, or how it was grown with everything you buy/use.
5. Don’t give in to the overwhelm. Once you start thinking about everything that you could change, there is so much to do that it can be paralysing and so many people do nothing. Sound familiar? Rather than trying to focus on everything at once, and changing all aspects of your life, from how you dress, to where you shop, how you clean your home and what you eat, pick an area to get started in.
I suggest starting in the kitchen, particularly with what you eat. Your food choices can very quickly add up (think about the items of plastic and waste that end up in your bin and I’m sure you’ll agree that most of it is from the kitchen…).
You’ll also get the added benefit that eating in a more eco-friendly way is also much better for you – so you can get double the gain knowing you’re helping yourself AND the planet (and your family etc as you’ll have a lot more energy to spend with them). As pretty much everyone wants to be healthier, this means you're tackling two of your goals at once - which has to help your motivation! Use your newfound energy to tackle more changes and keep moving forwards.
6. Don’t compare yourself to others. This is so easy to do with social media these days. There are people and groups out there who are doing ALL the things (and sometimes shame you for not – which is sooo the opposite of what we should be doing and just plain rude!). Remember that they didn’t get there overnight and that some changes that are really easy for some people, might be really difficult for you, and vice versa.
Only you know where you've come from, the resources you have and all of your life complexities. You can only do what you can do.
7. Find a reliable source of information and swaps. There are so many possible changes to make and many of these need some research to find the best alternatives. With many companies posting misleading information to get you to buy their product, you need to have a couple of sources (so you don’t spend ages trawling the internet!), that can provide the answers you need in an honest way.
I always try to research in an unbiased way and use trusted sources for my blog posts suggesting the most eco-friendly options.
Would you welcome a bit more help with all this?
I'm a sustainable nutrition coach and I love helping people take their next steps with food.
Get notified whenever I release a new blog post with a researched swap by signing up here
https://www.eatthinkexplore.com/sign-up/ I love to help through my membership which aims to take the stress and overwhelm out of putting healthy, eco-friendly meals on the table. You'll get my recipe data bank (delicious, nutritionally balanced and eco-optimised), meal planning software, courses, next step guidance, support and much more - check it out here - right now it's an amazing beta offer with most of it free!
https://www.eatthinkexplore.com/membership-signup/
