The books and articles on environmental hope and optimism still seem few and far between - too few for me to actually feel hopeful on a daily basis, that’s why I looked for ways to actually find a lasting sense of hope and even optimism despite the dire environmental circumstances that we find ourselves in. 

The research is pretty clear, we can find hope and even optimism, if we use these techniques to allow our brains to feel calmer about the circumstances.

That is what I get into in this episode, and if this resonates with you, find me on social media @khflourishing and let me know.

“Stubborn optimism is a deliberate mindset. Humanity has the capacity and ingenuity to address any challenge – including the climate crisis.”Christina Figueres of Global Optimism.

If you are interested in exploring these issues further, head on over to my website, KristinaHunterFlourishing.com.

While you are there, sign up for the Flourishing Fridays newsletter. It is your weekly guide to Sustainable Wellbeing and effective environmental action.

If you are a professional woman and are deeply concerned about climate change and the state of the world that we are leaving to future generations and want some guidance on the best steps to take. I would LOVE to connect with you, just book a call here.

Feeling like you are a hamster on a wheel, not making an impact, not able to make substantive change to environmental and social justice issues can be depleting. Sometimes doing the work itself is not enough - it can feel like a drain on your energy and mental health. 

So you need to change what you are doing and how you approach the problem to get the gains you want. In today’s episode I talk to someone who has overcome exactly this when it comes to taking environmental action.

Pauline is a member of the Eco-Impact Academy and says, “The environmental crisis still seems pretty dire, and yet where I was felt like a hamster in a wheel. I never saw any return, it felt really difficult to know how to make an impact. Now (the issues) seem no less dire, but my sense of helplessness seems different from what it was.”

If you are interested in exploring these issues further, head on over to my website, KristinaHunterFlourishing.com.

While you are there, sign up for the Flourishing Fridays newsletter. It is your weekly guide to Sustainable Wellbeing and effective environmental action.

If you are a professional woman and are deeply concerned about climate change and the state of the world that we are leaving to future generations and want some guidance on the best steps to take. I would LOVE to connect with you, just book a call here.

I was walking in the woods and it came to me as clear as day. The pieces came together and I understood how to move forward. This was my epiphany moment that came after a long, difficult period where the eco-overwhelm just seemed like it was too much.

But what came to me in the woods changed everything for me, and it is what I still rely on myself and teach to this day.

It turns out that part of what I was facing was a misalignment between my values and how I was living my life. Even though I was doing pretty good - I was missing a key element that I now make my number one priority.

I highly recommend going through the exercise that I did in order to also get clarity for yourself. It will make the day to day decisions easier when you see your values and priorities in front of you. I love thinking of it in this way because it makes those moments of - I don’t know what to do, just so much easier!

I would love to hear if you also like this technique. Get in touch with me about it on social media @khflourishing or through my website.

If you are interested in exploring these issues further, head on over to my website, KristinaHunterFlourishing.com.

While you are there, sign up for the Flourishing Fridays newsletter. It is your weekly guide to Sustainable Wellbeing and effective environmental action.

If you are a professional woman and are deeply concerned about climate change and the state of the world that we are leaving to future generations and want some guidance on the best steps to take. I would LOVE to connect with you, just book a call here.

Wicked problems: isn’t that a great term?

Wicked problems are complex and difficult to define, they cannot be separated from their context and there is no one definitive approach to solving them. Climate change, pollution, loss of biodiversity, plastic pollution, environmental racism, and the effects of colonialism are all examples of “Wicked” problems. 

You have likely been reading about or pondering how to address a Wicked problem recently in your own life. Something like, 

• Why your local government isn’t taking more action on Climate change? OR 
• How to reduce food waste in grocery stores? OR 
• How to turn your workplace into one that values the environment.

Wicked problems by definition are complex. Often it is hard to find agreement on the problem and its scope, never mind on the solutions.

They usually cannot be separated from their context - think about how to approach to Climate change related sea level rise in NYC vs in the Maldives.

What’s more, they cannot be solved by one actor or approach - think about ocean plastic pollution where we have multiple levels of government that can ban certain products, we have shipping industry practices that can be mandated or voluntarily changed, we have urban waste that can be dealt with through social campaigns to change behaviour, we have the beverage industry that could be mandated or voluntarily change its packaging and practices, and on and on!

In addition, there is no definitive approach to Wicked problems, For example, addressing poverty in Cape Town, South Africa vs poverty in L.A. would need to have very different approaches.

However, there are some things that we can do to better understand these Wicked problems, such as using systems thinking to better define the problem. Then we can look for what Chip and Dan Health call, Bright spots. These are examples where, despite the odds, someone has been able to punch through and make a difference, despite the Wicked nature of the problem.

Have a listen and be inspired to find your “Bright Spot” solutions.

If you are interested in exploring these issues further, head on over to my website, KristinaHunterFlourishing.com.

While you are there, sign up for the Flourishing Fridays newsletter. It is your weekly guide to Sustainable Wellbeing and effective environmental action.

If you are a professional woman and are deeply concerned about climate change and the state of the world that we are leaving to future generations and want some guidance on the best steps to take. I would LOVE to connect with you, just book a call here.

“I am worried about burning out.” is something I hear often, and this is a completely valid concern. After all, environmental and social justice work can be taxing both emotionally and physically.

So, how do we tackle this very important, and necessary work without putting our own physical and mental health in jeopardy? Well, it turns out there are proven tactics with plenty of medical literature to support that it truly works.

Now, these things do fall into the broad category of “self-care”, but before you hit pause and never come back to this episode, it is not necessarily the stuff that you might think of when you hear the term “self-care”, and yes, there is plenty of self-care junk science to be found on social media.

However, here is what is supported by evidence in the medical literature:

• sleep
• food
• exercise
• time in nature
• meditation / mindfulness
• gratitude
• play / flow
• community
• finding meaning

Each one of these is interesting to note, but how do we actually do it consistently when things are getting tough? There are important lessons to consider. But perhaps most important of all is that, as beings of this planet, we deserve to also be cared for. This is actually an essential part of doing environmental and social justice work.

Have a listen for the details on how to approach creating your personalized self-care kit and what that can look like. 

Here are a few more links that you will find useful.

Moving for the joy of it

Reduce your eco-anxiety with this technique

If you are interested in exploring these issues further, head on over to my website, KristinaHunterFlourishing.com.

While you are there, sign up for the Flourishing Fridays newsletter. It is your weekly guide to Sustainable Wellbeing and effective environmental action.

If you are a professional woman and are deeply concerned about climate change and the state of the world that we are leaving to future generations and want some guidance on the best steps to take. I would LOVE to connect with you, just book a call here.

There were certain environmental issues that I could barely talk about in my classes. Topics like animal suffering were simply too difficult for me to cover. I remember showing a video in class almost 25 years ago now of emaciated whales who were starving due to human over-fishing.

I sat in that darkened classroom with tears rolling down my face. Yes, these emotions made me want to focus on solutions, but they also made me feel ashamed of my reaction. After all, I was the professional, and the university lecturer educating my students on these topics from a scientific perspective.

Years later, I became more deeply interested in inter-species connections and stories of biological reciprocity as well as our own emotional connection to nature. One such story comes to mind of the Canadian nature photographer and marine biologist, Paul Nicklen, also founder of the SeaLegacy charity. Paul was in Antarctica to photograph the Leopard Seal.

These are top predators in the ecosystem, coming in at up to 3.4m in length and 600kg (1,300 lbs). Their heads are about twice the size of a grizzly bear with enormous teeth. Paul’s account of interacting with a large female Leopard seal is riveting, and a prime example of biological reciprocity across species.

In fact, the internet is full of examples of inter-species empathy and friendships! Is it really any wonder that we have these social connections when our very biology is linked? So as we have a deeper understanding of the connections between us and the natural world, here is what to do with those emotions of shame that you might have.

First, understand that they are completely natural, there are examples of inter-species empathy all around us. Then realize, that the fact that we are not alone, but rather interconnected with all of life can make us feel hopeful. This hope then can lead us to take action and make the world better for the many varied beings of our planet.

If you are interested in exploring these issues further, head on over to my website, KristinaHunterFlourishing.com.

While you are there, sign up for the Flourishing Fridays newsletter. It is your weekly guide to Sustainable Wellbeing and effective environmental action.

If you are a professional woman and are deeply concerned about climate change and the state of the world that we are leaving to future generations and want some guidance on the best steps to take. I would LOVE to connect with you, just book a call here.

Paul Nicklen, Nature Photographer and Marine Biologist

https://paulnicklen.com/

https://youtu.be/UmVWGvO8Yhk

https://www.sealegacy.org/

You know that feeling of just spinning your wheels? Like you are getting pulled in every direction, trying to make headway, but nothing seems to be working? You are trying to make changes at home, in the workplace, and in society but you can’t seem to get traction.

In this episode, I share four simple techniques to get real results, so that you can feel fulfilled, and like what you do matters.

First, reconsider the small actions and their importance. It might be more meaningful than you tend to believe. Then, I want you to remember that you can choose to take actions that you enjoy - that make you feel good!

Next, consider the actions that are best suited to the situation, is it a small win, systemic change or a truly integrated, collaborative change where we see flourishing results? Any of these types of actions are great - you get to choose what result or outcome is best for the circumstances based on your time, resources and the situation.

I want you to realize that you have permission to tackle the actions at whatever level suits you and the situation.

If you are interested in exploring these issues further, head on over to my website, KristinaHunterFlourishing.com.

Hit the “let’s chat button” if you are a professional woman and are deeply concerned about climate change and the state of the world that we are leaving to future generations and want some guidance on the best steps to take.
I would LOVE to connect with you!

While you are there, sign up for the Flourishing Fridays newsletter. It is your weekly guide to Sustainable Wellbeing and effective environmental action.

Do you sometimes wish that someone would just tell you the right thing to do when it comes to taking environmental action? It can be so darn complicated it seems. Every day there is another new campaign or cause, and they all seem important.

Easy to feel torn in multiple directions. And it doesn’t help with the Eco-overwhelm! So I want to show you how to apply the concept of Voluntary Simplicity to direct your actions. 

What is Voluntary Simplicity?

Voluntary Simplicity, despite being linked to the simple living and minimalism trends of de-cluttering and creating homes that look like no one actually lives in them, it is actually an idea rooted in the environmental movement.

Back in 1981, the Book Voluntary Simplicity, by Duane Elgin, helped people to address their over-cluttered lives, looking at the environmental and social issues of consumer culture, and finding ways to approach family life, work, and our inner lives.

The premise then which still holds today is that consumer culture is not only disastrous for the planet, it also leaves us deeply unhappy and longing for something better. The basic principles are to first pare down - in terms of possessions, but also our schedules, and to-do lists, in an effort to free ourselves up to make more connections.

We can then have the time and space to foster deeper, more meaningful and rewarding connections to others, to ourselves, our communities and to nature.

Voluntary Simplicity is described as “life that is outwardly simple yet inwardly rich.”

The term, however, was first coined by social philosopher Richard Gregg, in his 1936 essay on the topic. In which he writes:

"Voluntary simplicity involves both inner and outer condition. It means singleness of purpose and sincerity and honesty within, as well as avoidance of external clutter, of many possessions irrelevant to the chief purpose of life. 

It means an ordering and guiding of our energy and our desires, a partial restraint in some directions in order to secure greater abundance of life in other directions. It involves a deliberate organization of life for a purpose. 

Of course, as different people have different purposes in life, what is relevant to the purpose of one person might not be relevant to the purpose of another...The degree of simplification is a matter for each individual to settle for himself.”

What if doing the work that matters involves only two things? First, and foremost, take care of your body (mind included), and do the work where you can have the most impact. (Yes, I am talking about the Eco-Ikigai principle covered in EP 79.)

What if it is just that simple?

1. take care of yourself
2. do the work where you can have the most impact

If you want more on Voluntary Simplicity and how to apply it to all aspects of your life, head back to EP 39 Simplify to Amplify.

If you are interested in exploring these issues further, head on over to my website, KristinaHunterFlourishing.com.

Hit the “let’s chat button” if you are a professional woman and are deeply concerned about climate change and the state of the world that we are leaving to future generations and want some guidance on the best steps to take. 

I would LOVE to connect with you!

While you are there, sign up for the Flourishing Fridays newsletter. It is your weekly guide to Sustainable Wellbeing and effective environmental action.