THE POWER OF YOU…
It's very very easy when thinking about the climate crisis to feel powerLESS. HopeLESS. Too small to make a difference.
But we are more powerful than we know, and certainly more powerful than we give ourselves credit for.
I'm a massive believer in the power that we have as individuals to create positive change, so I absolutely LOVED hearing Sandra Sydow who runs a project called Climate Pitch, talking about the 4 different types of power we have as individuals. In fact, I loved it so much I asked her if she would mind me sharing it. Thankfully she said yes, and I've been using it in talks ever since, and wanted to share it with you all today.
We don't need to wait for government and business policies to get onboard before anything changes.
WE can be driving those policy changes, and much much more.
Here's how...
Our power as consumers
Some people, understandably, dislike being labelled as consumers. I'm not saying it's our sole role/purpose by any means, but we live in a very consumerist society, and one of the things that we all do as part of our daily lives is buy and consume. Whether it's clothes, food, tech, books....
And this is where a lot of our power can lie.
I have no idea how accurate this figure is, but a quick Ecosia search comes up with a stat that we can make up to 35,000 decisions every day. In the words of Anna Lappe, ""Every time you spend money you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want."
Our choices matter.
If we buy less fast fashion, more organic food, if we repair instead of buying new, or refuse to upgrade each time Apple tells us to, retailers will have to start to respond.
That's not to say we have to make the perfect decision every time. No one can do that. It's more about recognising the power that our buying choices can have (even the really dull, mundane ones about what loo cleaner to choose) and making better decisions more of the time.
Our power as citizens
In addition to the power of our choices, we also have the power of our voices, and this is another one that we underestimate.
- Use your citizen voice - ask for better, demand change.
- Vote.
- Be that person who writes to your MP, or your local council.
A study in 2017 asked MPs why they weren't taking more action on climate change, and most MPs said that they weren't hearing that it was an issue from their constituents. Let's change that.
- Tweet brands and retailers to let them know if you're not happy with something (and indeed if you're really happy with something!).
Our power as influencers
Influencers aren't just people who swan around looking beautiful on Instagram sharing lots of #ads and #sponsoredposts.
We are ALL influencers.
Our own behaviour affects those around us. Just by showing up and 'being the change' it gets seen by other people. And we never know the ripples that we create when we change one thing. When we have one conversation. When we share one social post.
Sometimes I think we (I) have a tendency to back away from conversations about what we're doing and the journey that we're on, for fear of coming across as though we're judging people, or maybe even a fear of being judged.
Show don't tell.
Step into your influencer status.
Share your own journey and story.
You can and do inspire change in others.
Our power as change agents
I LOVE this 'label' - doesn't it sound great? And like we should all have capes and some kind of secret handshake?
The idea is that we all the potential to effect change in the organisations that we are involved with. Be that our workplaces, the kids schools, any sports groups we're involved with etc etc.
By asking questions about pensions, or recycling. Or maybe we step up and we're the ones who suggest that there should be a 'green group' and galvanises colleagues to get involved. Or maybe simply suggest trying a fairtrade brand of coffee.
There's a huge amount of potential to 'be the change'.
For example...
Let's say there's a brilliant blog that you read that shares the suggestion that moving your energy supplier to a renewable tariff might just be one of the most impactful things we can do as individuals (sounds like a brilliant blog, do share it with your friends...)
So you decide that you're going to bite the bullet and do it.
You make a consumer choice. You vote with your wallet, and you take your money away from the fossil fuel guzzling planet burning company, and give it to the lovely renewable company where baby animal gambol through the wildflower meadow hand in hand.
THEN you can write to the company you left telling them why.
AND you could also write to your MP asking why subsidies still exist for fossil fuels.
THEN you share your joy, excitement and smug-ness as your new planet saving super hero status with friends and family and on your social media feeds. With or without the discount code you've been given to share.
And as if that's not enough, you skip into work the next day and ask where your work gets their energy from, and if they would consider switching to a renewable tariff.
Before sitting down with a nice cup of tea and a biscuit whilst you polish your secret change agent badge.
What do you reckon - do you love this as much as me?
Let me know in the comments!
