Method Initiative (Round 4) – Exercise 5: 5 People Who Feel The Problem

Method Initiative (Round 4) – Exercise 5: 5 People Who Feel The Problem

The goal of Initiative Exercise 5 was to find 5 people who feel the problem my project describes and hear the problem in their words, not mine.

Initially, when I started looking for people who possibly feel the problem I described, I assumed I’d be talking to just two main groups: people who are already involved in the world of sustainability and people who maybe are not thinking about sustainability, but are actively doing something in nature and environment – volunteering to remove pollution, replant native species, or just really love to be in nature. But as I went, I realized this isn’t just a problem felt by those already connected to nature…it’s a problem felt by almost everybody.

The Talks

Like veganism, climate change, or even gun control, people recognize environmental conversations have the potential to get judgmental, opinionated, and emotionally heated. Once I realized that, it suddenly became a much easier exercise than I thought and now am actually excited to find more people to talk to!

I talked to the following 5 people, who described the problem as follows (give or take some nuance and missed words here and there, as I was trying to type as quickly as they talked):

EW: There’s difficulty to it. “Stigma” doesn’t capture it fully. I feel like I have to be super careful to avoid making people feel overly attacked. It’s so easy to trigger defensiveness, which I feel is not helpful. It CAN be helpful if they’ve been defensive many times, but THIS conversation helps. I don’t like to be in a position where others feel like I’m attacking them. It makes me avoid saying a lot of things that can make people feel defensive. Even then, people still seem defensive. People definitely expect judgment. The judgment is such an ingrained part of how society works, they already expect it. They default to defensive no matter what you do. Even working in a clean tech company, but even coworkers are similarly defensive to admit to their own shortcomings. Another way to summarize: it’s hard to engage people in a way where they’re receptive, rather than defensive.

EW: I definitely struggle with talking about sustainability with people. I feel like it’s because I’m new and not qualified. I have my own internal issues and boundaries I impose on myself. Even when I have the confidence to talk about the subject, as soon as living sustainably gets mentioned, people respond defensively (why it won’t work for them), or they tell me that I can do whatever I want as long as you don’t preach. People give advice I’m not even asking for. I feel like there’s a lot of resistance to talking about behavioral change towards sustainability. Others seem to feel like they’re being judged.

JS: I don’t try to have conversations on environment with people, but I can see that it is a problem. I agree, people don’t like to have that conversation. It gets political with things like global warming. I like outdoor activities, but when it comes to volunteer events and things like that, I don’t find an issue inviting people to doing things like that. But when it comes to the ideas behind it, like why we remove invasive species, why we clean the beaches…it’s difficult to talk about.

ES: The line of work I’m in with energy efficiency, with the goal of getting to 100% clean energy in Hawaii. It can be a sensitive topic for people who feel strongly, especially when the people jump to conclusions on what your intentions are. I usually have to frame it in a way that speaks to other people’s values. Outside of work I don’t like to have those conversations because I don’t like to have controversial conversations. I get stressed out when people get argumentative because I don’t have the same values or beliefs. I also want to be sensitive to not get people angry. I feel like I’m not good at bringing the conversation to a place where everyone leaves it feeling OK.

HB: It’s hard to talk about it. Like with veganism…or even alcoholism! I once talked with a friend about alcoholism. When he tells others he doesn’t drink, others immediately tell why they DO drink to try to justify/avoid the judgment, even if he doesn’t intend judgment. Same goes for me and veganism. I understood the feeling, when others say they eat meat I felt like I had to say “I don’t.” I feel anxiety that someone might get confrontational about it. Others will get heated. People will try to justify why they are right. I know what’s right for me, but others want to try to use “facts” to tell why I’m wrong or why it’s OK why they do what they do. I don’t want to have to deal with disproving everyone’s false “facts.”

How The Conversations Went

Overall, the conversations were friendly and engaging. I think environmental discussions and deep talks about feelings are rare in everyday conversations, so when you engage someone in how they feel and show genuine interest, it always makes for a great talk. The people I talked to also seemed to be enjoying the conversations.

Summarizing what I heard from the 5 people I talked to, I am relieved to report that the problem I described is very much a real problem felt by many others: according to the 5 people I talked to, environmental conversations potentially bring feelings of:

• Defensiveness
• Anxiety
• Being Judged
• Stress
• Anger
• Sensitivity
• Emotional

My Solution

Overall, hearing others describe the problem has made me feel more excited for my project. Talking to them made me realize how the solution could be a start to solving the problem. It starts to create connection based on similar values, trust, and dialogue between people, but sidesteps politics, sustainability (at least at this step), and all the negative feelings described above. To me, the stretch goal of this project is to eventually engage people on sustainability, and this feels like it is the necessary stepping stone to get there: a community of people who connect over their experiences in nature.

I do have some concerns about whether my project actually helps to address this problem, but I think it’s best to let that question work itself out and continue on to the next exercises.

For Exercise 6, I will need to find 10 people who are “closer to the field” of my project. This means people who organize open mic events, people who have experience in story-telling events or story telling in general, and people who organize groups of people to discuss a specific topic. I’m a little nervous I won’t be able to find them easily, but there’s nothing else to do but try!

Wish me luck, and if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment them below!

Thanks for reading!