Listen to Your Eco Intuition

As a personal eco living consultant, I have learned that each individual’s experience is uniquely different, and that personal preferences are, in fact, always changing with evolving life circumstances.   To maintain a sustainable life style one must recognize that personal sustainability is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. To use the cliché, ‘life is a journey of personal discovery’, and sustainability is about continuously discovering and experimenting with new ideas.

In a recent post, Finding the ‘You’ in Your Personal Sustainability Plan, we discuss how what works for one may not be the right fit for another. Personal sustainability truly is about defining what works for you.

An effective plan for long-term personal sustainability plan involves more than defining personal values and taking on sustainability concepts, like reduction or recycling. Personal sustainability is a continuous improvement process that challenges each individual to make alternative choices in a way that supports the changing circumstances of daily living. Life changes and so do your preferences, needs, and desires. It's okay to ask:

•    Does this activity increase my personal satisfaction through alignment with ‘my’ personal values?

•    Will this activity decrease ‘my’ time engaged in other more fulfilling sustainable activities?

•    Does ‘my’ lifestyle support this activity or is it by my ‘personal’ circumstance hake it unsustainable?

Follow your intuition. Listen to what inspires you to take eco action. Remember there is an endless number of sustainable possibilities from which to choose to respond to any situation. Discovering an option that doesn’t work, like riding a bike to work when you live 40miles away, only opens the door for other options. By allowing for the daily expansion of eco awareness and keeping open to the idea that there are multiple green choices available and could work for you, living a sustainable lifestyle becomes an easy and exciting journey.