Caring for the Earth: Empowerment

Microsteps are small, incremental, science-backed actions we can take that will have both immediate and long-lasting benefits to the way we live our lives. ~ Arianna Huffington, Thrive Global

In honor of both Earth Day and Dolphin Project’s birthday (April 22), we’re looking at ways we can fine-tune our daily habits to help protect our planet. In this blog, we’re focusing on self-empowerment.

With a myriad of global issues demanding our attention, it’s a wonder we know where to focus our energies next. How does one triage information so that crucial issues get prioritized and others postponed for future consideration? A whopping 45% of adults living in the United States are turning to Facebook for news content*, scrolling through newsfeeds where everything feels immediate and equally weighted.
*Source: Pew Research Center, 11/8/17

Source: Mindful magazine

Nurture our connections: To start, we need to nurture our connection to ourselves, to our family and friends, and to our immediate environment. In other words, we need to be present in the real world. By doing so, we remain grounded and garnish a real world ability to inform and educate. If all our time is spent online, paradoxically, we run the risk of becoming disconnected – and hence, disempowered.

Demonstrate gratitude: Every success, no matter how great or small, is a reason to celebrate and demonstrate gratitude. Instead of focusing on a negative, or on a lack of progress being made, we need to build upon each accomplishment – in fact, we’ll be healthier for it! According to multiple research models, there is a strong association between gratitude and well-being, whereas the brain interprets gratitude as optimism. The more optimistic we are, the more empowered we become.

Block time: Concentrating on one thing at a time, versus attempting to absorb many things at once helps us to retain our focus and leaves us less overwhelmed. By blocking time to concentrate on a particular issue or task, we are making a conscious decision how and what to spend our energies on. We become proactive versus reactive, and more resilient to external stimulus which threaten to derail our attention.

I’ve always said that if everyone does something, then every thing gets tended to. By fine-tuning our own internal compass, we can better find our footing (even if we don flippers instead of shoes) and be more effective at what we set out to do.

Featured image: Cara Sands