A sustainability mindset can be loosely defined as living life with the bigger picture in mind. In other words, being aware of the impact your actions have on people, the environment and social justice.
Being aware of our impact on the bigger picture helps us to make adjustments in the way we live our lives in regards to the choices we make. This level of awareness helps us to better align with whatever sustainable issues are closest to the values we believe in.
e.g., I really want to have a positive impact on the envirn and also have a positive impact on animal life/bigger respect of animal life – therefore – a sust adjustment I could make is drastically reduce my meat intake.
A sustainable mindset starts with you. We can spend a lifetime expecting others to change their behaviors, but since you can only truly control your own behavior, it’s good to start there. Sustainability is an extremely complex societal goal, and being sustainable often requires such a change from how we live life in today’s world, that putting it in action can seem very difficult. Don’t look for perfection, look for generating change in small, manageable steps.
Sustainability is a journey that takes times. Celebrate the wins and keep taking small steps at a time. Don’t be too hard on yourself when there are setbacks. An accumulation of small steps is the best way for inching forward to a new set of behaviours and habits. Don’t look for perfection in others (not even big companies); it is a long journey for them too.
Sustainability requires collaboration. You can’t do it alone, but your contribution - no matter how small - is key.