Will government action ‘fix’ sustainability? Really?

Adapted from “Are your beliefs limiting your effectiveness?”, published in our September newsletter.

Most human behaviour is dictated by our opinions and beliefs about the world. If we don’t examine and test them, we can end up becoming impotent, angry and depressed.  In the sustainability game and especially in the media, one limiting belief I come across repeatedly is that “Sustainability requires government action.”  

High class communicators listen differently…

“High class communicators take the responsibility to interpret the understanding of their audience in order to be understood the way they want to be understood.”  Alan Sieler – Newfield Institute.

I resat Newfield Institute’s 3-day Ontological Coaching In Action workshop last week.   Ontological Coaching is an ongoing practice – like yoga – that helps me be more grounded, balanced and flexible.  One thing that stood out for me as particularly important for regenerative business innovators was a discussion about “listening for clarity and from clarity”.

Observing sustainability differently…

“We don’t see how things are, we see them according to how we are”.   ― Anaïs Nin

Modern neurobiology is providing evidence of what philosophers have been saying for a long time. What we observe is controlled and filtered by our beliefs and values, particularly in complex situations.  How we see and respond to situations is based on who WE are.

If you can talk, you can change the world…

There’s a proverb from Zimbabwe that my singing teacher quoted a lot:

“If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing.”

Not so many years ago, how humans went about the business of behaviour change was pretty much a mystery.  Those who could do it and do it well were considered to have ‘a way with people’.

Old songs to inspire a new century….

Here are some of the songs from the 20th century that inspire and energise me.  It a bit of an eclectic mix, but my mood shifts when I play them.  What inspires and renews you?

The Heat is On by Glenn Frey is one I love just for the rhythm/beat – a great source of energy:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqZ9WVBXBvw

Tom Petty’s  I Won’t Back Down for the melody but also the words “Gonna stand my ground, won’t be turned around / And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUTXb-ga1fo

Ease On Down the Road by Michael Jackson for the energy and lightness, but also for the message to let go of the baggage of the past and just take the next step: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ztDwyEuiBY

High Hopes by  Frank Sinatra for the lightness, also for the value of persistence (although I also advocate for hard work on smart strategy):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWZ-pLUb9L8

‘Tain’t What You Do (It’s The Way That You Do It) by Ella Fitzgerald to me points out the value of bringing acceptance, intention, curiosity and wonder to HOW we do WHAT we do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8fCXNTCWig

The Music Of The World A Turnin’ by The Seekers – tune into what’s happening, not what’s going on in your head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K8BbTNXx2o

Jimmy Cliff’s I Can See Clearly Now reminds me to let go of the negative moods and emotions that shut down my creative thinking:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIqLsGT2wbQ

Revisiting ‘the cycle of hope’…

Early in my sustainability journey I came across The Better World Handbook . The wisdom in its introduction empowered me to manage some of my emotions about “the tough stuff” and whether this sustainability thing was for me.

As I sat down to do some planning for the coming year it seemed a good time to share the Cycle of Hope and also the Handbook’s  sound advice on traps that stop people from making a difference.

Learned Helplessness: a recipe for sustainability INACTION?

Back in the 1960s, psychology researcher Martin Seligman and his team discovered how to create helplessness and passivity – first in animals and later in humans.  Some sustainability campaigners could learn an important lesson from his research about how to present their message so it generates action rather than helplessness.

Environment: Be angry, but not aggressive…

In a global culture where an underlying mood of aggression and distrust is deeply and subtly embedded, it’s easy to respond to the multiple and increasing threats of ecosystem breakdown with the same aggression that we see played out on a daily basis.

However, this is a place where Einstein’s famous quote is absolutely relevant:

“Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them.”

It’s as important to learn to shift out of aggression and operate from more constructive moods as it is to understand the systems shifts of the emerging regenerative economy.

Enough with the ‘why’ already – let’s talk about the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of profitable sustainability…

Humans need more than why stuff for behaviour change.  If a good reason why was enough to create behaviour change then we wouldn’t have problems with smoking, obesity or any number of other ‘challenges’.  To make effective change, most of us need more than “reasons why” – we also need to know what to change, we need to know how to do it, and we need some rewards along the way.

Where are the (guilt-free) sustainability videos and audios about the ‘what‘ and ‘how‘ of profitable, regenerative sustainability?

I’m a bit cranky today.  I’ve just watched another video on sustainability – and it’s still about “why sustainability is important”.  A whole 20 minute TED talk – and over 15 minutes of “why“.

Language: bringing forth new creations for a regenerative future…

“By continually expanding the distinctions available to observe and participate in the world in a myriad of ways, humans increase the diversity of ways they can coordinate their actions.  Humans are continually inventing new ways of doing things together and so bring forth new creations, whether it is a new dance, more ecologically sustainable buildings or new forms of communication technology.  All this occurs in and through languaging.”  Alan Sieler, Coaching to the Human Soul, Volume 3, page 124.

The increasing number of ways we can describe the solution side of sustainability creates more ways for us to get there.