What do you love too much to lose?

This question is personal — we each love different things — but it is also communal — we all love someone, something, someplace. All our combined someones and somethings and someplaces exist here on earth and are in imminent danger if we do not commit to making a profound collective shift. A shift away from extractive overconsumption and towards regenerative care.

Put another way: What do you identify with so deeply on this earth, and what brings you such joy that you’d be willing to change a great deal to protect it?

I’ve been asking myself this question day in and day out for the past two years. While my answers are simple, the shifts in my mindset are profound, and those profound mental leaps prepare me — propel me even — to take the next leap. To make the next change. To bend my habits closer and closer to living in harmony with the natural world.

My former self wouldn’t believe the changes I’ve made. I’ve changed my diet. I’ve changed what I bring into and how I care for my home. I’ve changed how I invest my money. I’ve changed how I care for my family. I’ve changed how I care for myself. I’ve changed how I engage with my community. My former self would be even more surprised to learn that through all that change, I don’t feel I’ve given up anything at all. My home is safer, my family is healthier, I am more skilled, I’m saving money overall, and I am no longer paralyzed by hopelessness and plagued by inaction — the shift toward sustainable living revitalizes.

These personal changes have given me a sense of kinetic momentum.

• I’ve shown myself I can sustain sustainable choices, and so I seek to layer in more and more of them — sustainable choices compound.
• My family and my friends have noticed my choices, and it sparks their curiosity, interest, and action too — sustainable habits are contagious.
• The more people choose en masse to make sustainable choices, the more governments and companies will respond with programs, services, and products that align with the needs of their constituents and customers — sustainable choices are a catalytic market maker.

Sustainable living is fueled by what you love — if what I’ve described has moved you in any way, subscribe to updates for an interactive tool I’m cooking up where you can explore what matters most to you, ignite your own personal shift toward environmental stewardship, and connect with real relevant opportunities to show up for what you love. The world, quite literally, needs you.