Oftentimes, I feel like a fraud in the sustainability community.
Sustainability has grown in mainstream culture over the past few years, often being accompanied with images of Hydroflasks, cream colored mesh bags, and metal straws. Personally, metal straws were my entry way to the world of sustainability. I was sold on the idea of saving sea turtles, which later evolved into the ambitious desire of saving the planet. And as I was exposed to more and more lifestyles centered on sustainability, the more my awareness grew on the plethora of ways that one can incorporate sustainability practices in everyday life. However, all this knowledge and information soon became stifling.
A Jack of All Trades: Is it Possible to be 100% Sustainable?
In a day and age where in just one click of a button, you’re exposed to so many lifestyles and opinions, it’s easy to get trapped in the damning and unrelenting cycle of comparison. I found this to be especially true when proclaiming myself to be a sustainability advocate. I wanted to synthesize and embody every single practice pertaining to sustainability, stretching from slow fashion to eco-friendly travel to a 100% eco-conscious home.
But we all know this isn’t realistic.
It isn’t realistic to expect a single individual to be the poster child of sustainability. Although this expectation is often self-imposed, it’s difficult not to impose such expectations if you have the tiniest bit of concern for the earth’s wellbeing. Nevertheless, our culture isn’t set up to where leading a sustainable life is easy and widely accessible. And, even if it were so, the responsibility to reverse the deteriorating wellness of the planet shouldn’t be solely on individual practices, most of the responsibility should be placed in the hands of the ones creating the most damage — lawmakers, businesses, etc.
This isn’t to say attempts made by a group of individuals isn’t significant. Instead it’s to relieve a lot of us from the burden we place on ourselves to do something beyond our control.
Sustainability Isn’t a Race Toward Perfection
As someone who considers herself a sustainability girlie, I often fall short of what I could be doing to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Whenever I’m not perfectly practicing in all areas of my life, it can feel as if my tree hugger card should be revoked. The amount of times I have criticized myself for not taking my reusable coffee cup to the cafe with me or failing to curate a closet with nothing but slow fashion is kinda sad. The pursuit for a more sustainable future shouldn’t induce self-condemnation for not measuring up to perfection.
Accepting this was difficult but once I did, a lot of the anxiety I had dissipated because I was no longer striving for perfection. Some changes like striving to be low waste instead of zero waste or shopping as sustainably as possible rather than completely berating myself when shopping at a store with a low rating on Good On You, set the foundation for a better relationship with sustainability efforts.
A Step in the Right Direction
There are a myriad of ways to incorporate sustainability into our everyday lives and since these possibilities are truly endless, we shouldn’t attempt to do it all. It’s a win for sustainability when small or big efforts are being made on an individual level. So, no matter what practices you choose to hone in on, it’s a step in the right direction.
If you enjoyed this blog post, let me know in the comments! Have you ever felt guilty for not being 100% sustainable in your life?
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