Luckily, the second video provides some good news, the concept that our brain can form new habits. We hold the power in our own minds to change these detrimental ways, and once we break through that first barrier, the possibilities are endless. We can begin by forming new ECO-MAD habits like conscientious forethought, practical action, and thorough follow-through, so that no matter where we are in life or at any given moment in time, we can effortlessly EXERT CONSCIENTIOUS OPTIONS to MAKE A DIFFERENCE that could mean (literally) the world to future generations.
Forethought: careful thinking or planning about the future.
This is like setting goals and figuring out the steps to get those goals done. The more aware of ourselves, our habits, and our surroundings we are, the more we can plan goals to substitute convenient, unsustainable practices with more thought-out, conscious, sustainable day-to-day choices. Taking the time to think about what we'll be doing later in the day, week, year etc. allows us to be more prepared for, and capable of, making ECO-MAD choices.
Planning for the future before we make our daily decisions helps cut down on consumption of unnecessary stuff in all aspects of life. Forethought can be especially effective in improving sustainability of our day-to-day decisions and actions; like once we realize what disposable items we use daily, we can think of how to replace those things with reusable items, bypass them altogether, or at least cut down on waste by recycling, reusing, composting, etc. Things like reusable bags, reusable bottles and cups (insulated or not), reusable napkins and straws, reusable tupperware and utensils for leftovers or to-go food, are all great solutions for cutting down on daily wastefulness.
There are also concepts like recycling, buying second-hand possessions (reusing), composting, gardening, DIY, and many more that, with some forethought, can become part of our lifestyle to make a positive difference on an even bigger scale. We may even be inspired to put forethought into global issues, on an even more macro level. For example, with this blog I'm trying to tackle all of the above. Much forethought went into my creating ECO-MAD, and it's my way of trying to help alleviate some of what I believe to be the world's most severe problems, by raising awareness of all things, big and small, that humans can do to exercise the collective power we possess when we are more conscientious in our individual thoughts, choices, decisions and actions.
Action: Something done or performed; act; deed.
Action is when we put our forethought to good use. Like when we hear there's rain in the forecast, so we make sure to pull out our umbrella so we remember it when we go out. We can put reusable bags in our vehicle or our school/work bag so we remember to take them into the store and use them; we can keep a reusable, insulated cup by the door or in our bag or vehicle so we can ask for our morning smoothie/coffee to-go in a sustainable way (unless we make it ourselves at home, in which case we most likely already use a non-disposable vessel); we can take our reusable bottle of water, possibly infused with fruit or herbs, so we aren't tempted to buy plastic throughout the day; we can make our own lunch and put it in reusable to-go containers, remembering to grab our reusable utensils/napkin and maybe carrying it all in a reusable bag, so that we don't have to buy any unhealthy or over-packaged food out of desperation or convenience (and if we do plan to eat out or get food from our favorite takeout place, we can still take our reusable to-go containers so we can try to get our takeout in a more sustainable way). These are all actions we consciously have control over in our lives and taking them regularly can help us collectively break out of any sort of disposable lifestyle. We must always keep pushing ourselves to find new ways to avoid wasting stuff and creating waste, even if it seems like more effort for us at first, it's urgent that we move away from a lifestyle based on convenient consumption.
Action can be taken on a bigger scale, too, because things like separating recyclables from our trash to cut down on waste, creating a compost to ease the effects of our food waste, or making our own products and buying things second-hand so less stuff gets used and wasted, are all helpful and within our control. Some of us may choose to take on topics that are more out of our individual control but still highly possible, like starting a local trash cleanup in our area to stop the spread of micro trash and litter, creating a non-profit or socially responsible business that positively affects society, or creatively finding solutions to ecological problems due to global demands. We can make positive change happen on many levels. If we are inspired and passionate enough about something, and we're willing to put in the time and energy, we can take action to improve our world in many ways and for generations to come.
Follow-through: the act of completing an action or process.
In the hopes of creating a cycle conducive to less consumption and lower-impact living that is also applicable to any daily regimen, we come full circle when we follow through. This is when we collect the sustainable, non-convenience items we've used throughout our day to rinse/wash them and put them where we'll remember them the next day or time we need them. It's using our compost for fertilizer to grow food in, it's taking used clothes to the second-hand or thrift store for others to reuse, it's reducing our plastic use and waste altogether instead of just recycling because if we follow-up we realize that even recycling isn't done everywhere or in the most sustainable way.
This is also where we take it another step further. Following through is about the end game and beyond. Like in sports - taking the shot, catching the ball, swinging the bat - all these actions are vital to the game but what's just as or more important is how the athlete chooses to proceed after those actions are taken. After our initial intention or goal has been carefully planned, acted upon, and met, what can we do to continue implementing the ideas, etc.? How can we maximize the potential, push the limits and continue to achieve positive, favorable outcomes? Once results have been realized, we followthrough in order to keep getting results and maybe even improve them. Followthrough is finding new ways to be more sustainable or less impactful, leading by example to educate and inspire others, and digging deeper than the surface to find information and facts when making decisions.
**Put It Into Practice**
As an example, we all feel good intrinsically when we give back to others. In fact, many of us do this regularly and can easily do it in an ECO-MAD way. Whether we're volunteering, gift-giving or donating to a cause, it's important we put in the effort to research pertinent information. What does the organization stand for? Is my gift made in an ethical/sustainable way? What is my donated money used for? What is actually needed? (ie.Haiti, Indian Ocean, Katrina) If a company, organization, non-profit, etc., is legitimate then it should be transparent and these questions should be easily answered. Forethought, action, follow-through. Practice, practice, practice.
