Goals to Grow: 2022
Go Bigger or Go Home.
Here we are at the start of 2022. What have I accomplished? How far have I come? Have I had an impact? What do I want in 2022? These are all questions I ask myself as I think about what changes and improvements I want to make in my life going into 2022.
In 2021, I feel like I started Verdant Growth and…well…It was OK. There are things I really love about it, and things that really could do with some improvement. Big improvement. I like what I’m doing. I just need to do it bigger and better.
Establishing a “New Normal”
As with all things we do in life, if we do them long enough, they just become our new normal. We stop noticing anything special about them. They’re just that…what we do all the time: “Normal.”
This can be a good thing: my life probably has a smaller carbon footprint than it did a year ago because of the changes I’ve made like biking to work and eating a lot less meat.
But I find there’s a downside too: as these things become normalized, they stop feeling significant. They don’t make me feel like I’m making positive changes after a while. This is the feeling I hope to use to convert into motivation for the next year: I’ve come this far, and it’s time to push farther. To get out of my comfort zone and make more changes that will make my life better for me, happier, and better for the planet and those around me.
So the first thing I wanted to do at the beginning of 2022 is take the time to realize what has changed. What changes did I make that are now normal to me, but a year ago I would’ve been surprised at?
The Positive Changes I Made For The Planet (And for me.)
- Biking to work
- Red meat consumption cut down to less than twice a month
- Picking up trash daily
- Buying as much as possible used from Craigslist
- Shorter showers, turning off water when I’m not using it
- Buying more local fruits and vegetables
- Monthly donations to organizations supporting nature preservation
- Started buying used clothes and repairing clothes I have
- Cutting out plastic from everyday items (toothpaste, Q-tips, plastic bags)
- Working with local farmers to get my local produce without plastic bags
- Cooking my own foods from fresh, local ingredients
Things I want to Accomplish in 2022
- Have more climate talks with people around me
- Be more proud of what I do: Tell more people about my podcast or my YouTube channel!
- Start to do more for others (Blog/Instagram/YouTube to help others)
- Start a new evolution of ECO YouTube videos that are more concise, entertaining, and much more useful to a specifically targeted group.
- Get onto a schedule and rhythm for better work/life balance
- Get more active (Climate action, more volunteering for the environment)
I feel like this is not the end of this list. I will want to add more soon, but for now, this is what I came up with.
Enough talking about it or planning.
You learn by action and making mistakes.
Go, Eugene. Get out into 2022. Take action. Do. Make mistakes. Grow. Learn. Live MORE ECO.
What kinds of changes are you making to do more and be better? Let me know in the comments below, or message me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!
