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How to Be Green without Letting Perfectionism Get the Best of You
© iStock
Have you ever been embarrassed to admit that you still don’t own an eco-friendly thermos? Have you had to explain to your friends why you don’t sort plastic waste? We asked Lera Nemchinova, a participant of Green HSE and the ECoin project, to tell us how to make our lives more eco-conscious and avoid the guilt.
Motivation is more important than perfection. Remember that the journey is sometimes more important than the destination. No matter what stage you are at in your green path, it is important that you get better and continue learning.
Unfortunately, many people are embarrassed to share the changes they have made if they don’t adhere to them 100%. For example, they may not sort all kinds of waste, they may sometimes buy coffee in a disposable cup, or they might occasionally buy ‘fast fashion’ clothes.
You can’t make any progress without making mistakes. Adopting sustainable habits is like learning any other skill. You forgot to take a reusable cup? You came to a shop without a reusable bag? Or you forgot to pass on that straw at the café? Don’t blame yourself. Just learn your lesson and continue learning.
No one is perfect. Perfectionism may slow down your journey. Behind the nice zero-waste images on Instagram, there is always a person who has travelled a long and complicated path towards that sustainable lifestyle and is continuing to improve.
A green lifestyle is not a race. Each individual is at their own stage of the way, and comparing your first steps with someone else’s decade-long journey is pointless. Do what is comfortable for you right now.
Start gradually. Green consciousness demands a lot of time and resources, so don’t expect that everything will be immediately perfect. At the first stage, you can reduce your consumption of packed products or start buying organic food.
The habit of waste separation should also be introduced gradually. For a month, try gathering all packaging in one bag. Then, separate all waste by categories: glass, plastic, paper, and Tetra Pak. The pile of garbage you get in a month will hardly leave you indifferent. Don’t forget to bring it to the nearest separate waste collection station.
Remember about self-education and the community. Don’t be shy about participating in events and seeking out new contacts in the green community. Communicating with activists and learning about their experience may give you some new ideas or take you to the next level of your green lifestyle.
Pay attention at educational platforms. I would recommend reading Nastya Prikazchikova’s eco blog, where she talks about how to maintain a sustainable lifestyle that is both fun and manageable.
The following apps will help you develop your sustainable habits:
- JouleBug — provides recommendations on how to make your everyday life greener, in the form of a game. You can compete with your neighbours and friends.
- Ecolabel Guide — detects eco-labels and suggests whether they can be trusted, helping you to find eco-friendly products.
- Eco Tracker — helps you compile your list of green habits and check the ones that you’ve exercised daily. The app will track your success over a week, a month, and a year.
- Dropcountr — helps you track the volumes of water you use. It also offers useful advice.
Big achievements always start with small steps. Each participant of the ECoin team has come a long way: we are all at different stages of making our lives more sustainable. We do not judge and do not criticise the small steps. On the contrary, we always try to share our experiences, to inspire and support each other.
ECoin is a project that will help you move to a responsible lifestyle and start sorting waste. It starts on March 22 and will last until April 18.
Participants are welcome to complete simple assignments and earn coins, which will be exchanged for prizes by partners – registration is required. In order to stay up to date on project news and information about how to sort your waste, please subscribe for the project on Instagram.