030: Joel Runyon, conversation 2: Almost too easy
How do you treat the world?
True to form, Joel committed to a double challenge of avoiding bottled beverages and picking up trash, so we talked about both.
I recommend trying the challenge of picking up trash daily for a month or so. It takes almost no time or effort but gives you insight into how little many people value material objects or how much they pollute. Or maybe their ignorance.
Joel and I talked about the results. We can’t figure it out, but you can’t help considering it when you experience how people treat the world.
When was the last time you littered? Where does it come from? We speculated. Write me if you have ideas. I find it very confusing.
We don’t value stuff. That’s why we give it away.
I hope you see that acquiring bags, disposable things, and so on lead to garbage, which is waste, which hurts others. Stop acquiring.
Also true to form, Joel remarked that making a difference is “almost too easy,” yet he learned more about the environment than he would have reading statistics.
Takeaways
Habits make new behaviors trivial, no mental effort. Habits enable you to live by your values. In his case, beyond the environment, he ate and drank less sugar and unhealthy stuff with gain in joy and refreshment. He experienced more nature.
I don’t know your values, but if they include clean land, air, and water, he presents two you can start with little effort.
Be warned: you’ll care more. You’ll change. You’ll improve as a leader.
You’ll be surprised and notice others’ behavior and yours. You’ll probably become less tolerant for litter and waste. Don’t we want to tolerate litter less?
With experience, the skills you learn might get you promoted, hired, funded elsewhere in life.
Start your snowball.