Let’s Create a More Sustainable You

It’s hard to know where to focus these days. You are bombarded with millions of bytes of information. It’s hard to discern the truth. But, what’s really true for everyone is that they want to be, do, and have more for themselves and their families. How do you thrive in a world that appears insane most of the time? Where do you start? One of my longtime mentors used to say, “It’s all you,”  That is so true on many different levels. However, actualizing your best self can be a lifelong pursuit. So, let’s break this process down into doable steps and focus on helping you create a more sustainable you. If you are more sustainable, then everyone and everything you connect with becomes more sustainable. It’s the ripple effect.

What Is Sustainability?

One of the definitions I found for sustainability is quite revealing:

pertaining to a system that maintains its own viability [by using techniques that allow for continual reuse]

How do YOU remain viable? From my experience as a spiritual coach for over 30 years, the most sustainable people, who thrive no matter what life throws at them, are those who can evolve, adapt, and remain resilient in an ever-changing environment.

Personal Sustainability Tips

So, what I’d like to do over the next quarter is share tips about what I’ve learned about personal sustainability. I hope that these few concepts and exercises will help you continue to thrive in these times of chaotic change.

Tip One: You See What You Focus On

Are you as fed up with what you see on the news and internet as I have been? I’ve let the demonstrations I see on television rent space in my mind and then wondered why I felt so frustrated. Then, I reminded myself that I will continue to see what I focus on.

One way to handle this overload of negative images is to just turn off the television, radio, and internet. I’ve certainly done this at different times of my life, since my mentor suggested it. This tuning out of the collective angst certainly helped my level of productivity and state of mind. If this is something you feel you can do, I highly recommend the experience.

But, what if you can’t or don’t want to completely tune out? What can you do? I’d like to propose a little experiment with you. Let’s pick a random object that has no emotional “charge” for you – let’s say blue glass.  Every chance you get, tell yourself, “I want to see blue glass.” Play with the image of blue glass. Imagine blue glass in all of its forms – a blue glass vase, a broken piece of blue glass on the side walk, a blue glass hummingbird feeder in a tree. Don’t be attached to or have any expectations around blue glass. Just play with the image of blue glass and tell yourself, “I want to see blue glass.”

Let me know what you notice around this experiment, if anything. You can leave a comment here or on our Facebook or Twitter feeds. I look forward to hearing from you. QueenBee