Category Archives: Nonjudgment

Why do people like hearing me share my vulnerabilities?

on February 7, 2025 in Awareness, Nonjudgment, Relationships

People like hearing me share my vulnerabilities. I’m not special. People like hearing anyone share their vulnerabilities too, but I noticed it this week about myself. At the beginning of this week, I thought about blind spots. We all have things we do or don’t do, or know or don’t know, and we aren’t aware of the consequences differing from what we expect. Learning about them can help us improve[…] Keep reading →

The value of family support when living by your values when society opposes them: Janae Marie Kroczaleski, part 2

on January 25, 2025 in Fitness, Nonjudgment, Relationships

Living true to our deepest values is its own reward. Fewer rewards are greater, all the more so when it requires struggle. All the more so when it deepens our closest relationships. Living by the values of sustainability—community, health, reciprocity, liberty, freedom, and stewardship, for example—is challenging today. No matter what I do in trying to live more sustainably and leading systemic change toward sustainability, people say others can’t do[…] Keep reading →

The emotional struggles of living by your values when society opposes them: Janae Marie Kroczaleski, part 1

on January 24, 2025 in Choosing/Decision-Making, Fitness, Nonjudgment, Relationships, Stories

Almost ten years ago in this blog I wrote about an experience of art expressing something I didn’t know could be expressed. Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander captured an emotion I felt with my father and no one else. That emotion hit me hard. It was powerful. It influenced big decisions in my life, especially to learn and teach the social and emotional skills of leadership. I just experienced a[…] Keep reading →

“I never had a more optimistic outlook than when things were going to shit,” said my friend about suffering a debilitating disease

on January 10, 2025 in Nonjudgment

A friend reminded me of a life lesson we could all use in facing our environmental symptoms. In her words: “I never had a more optimistic outlook than when things were going to shit.”

Disposable means imperialist. So does polluting.

on December 30, 2024 in Freedom, Nature, Nonjudgment

The dictionary defines imperialism as: The policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas. Making something disposable means when you’re done with it, you put it into someone else’s space. Likewise with pollution. In principle, if the disposable thing biodegrades, it might decompose, but most disposable[…] Keep reading →

“They blame me for their guilt”

on December 28, 2024 in Nonjudgment

I heard someone speaking on nature conservation. After he spoke someone in the audience described how people who promote conservation in words but don’t practice it in deed often call people who also practice it pushing too hard, too self-righteous, or the like. The speaker responded: “Yes, they blame me for their guilt.” The statement rang true. People acting against their own values feel guilty not because others who act[…] Keep reading →

Why should Exxon become more sustainable but not you?

on December 14, 2024 in Leadership, Nonjudgment

To all of you out there who say that polluting companies should pollute less, if you pollute an unsustainable amount—that is, 20 percent of what the average American does—why should they change an not you? It’s tempting to say that since they pollute so much, they should stop more, but first: they aren’t polluting for the sake of polluting. They are serving customers who pay them, including you. Second, if[…] Keep reading →

One of the most challenging parts of living more sustainably: other people bragging and showing off nonsense they think is “green”

on November 15, 2024 in Nonjudgment

If you think living in an apartment disconnected from the electric grid in Manhattan is hard, you haven’t had to deal with talking to people about sustainability when you’re doing it. People seem compelled to tell me their half-assed “sustainability” practices, nearly always self-righteously, as it they want my approval. I don’t look forward to people bragging, even less when their bragging doesn’t follow from whatever half-assed thing they did.[…] Keep reading →

“Have you learned to love not flying?”

on November 9, 2024 in Nonjudgment, Tips

I’m always working on more effective ways to lead on sustainability. Recall my definition of leadership: helping people do what they already wanted to but haven’t figured out how. To help others, I have to learn what they want, the opposite of opposing my values on them. Most people I ask tell me they support sustainability and are doing their best. They seem to think they aren’t anywhere close to[…] Keep reading →

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