Tag: take action

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Take responsibility for your shopping and its impact

Take action with your wallet and don’t buy products from companies supporting regimes you disagree with. For me, I have long learned to live without Nestle products. I disagree with their politics and therefore I won’t hand over my hard earned money to them. Easy.

In 2005, Brabeck-Letmathe, then CEO of Nestle, called the idea that water is a human right “extreme.”

Nestle was also one of the companies who continued to operate in Russia well after the war in Ukraine started – one month to be precise. Ukraine was attacked on 24 February 2022 and only after consumer outrage and action did they announce that Nestle is “temporarily stopping some” products in Russia. This announcement came out on 23 March 2022.

I am using Nestle as an example since it has been in the news on this topic recently. It is not the only company I am personally boycotting due to their politics or due to the way they treat their employees or due to shady business practices. I urge you to think about where you shop and whether you really need a sugary snack every day. Do you agree with how the company is run? Does the company’s management team and their board behave ethically? What does their record say about them?

I strongly advise you to learn more about where your products and services come from. Look up companies and how they make their money. Do they deserve your hard earned money? If not, don’t give it to them. Find alternatives. If you are lucky, there are local alternatives with your money feeding back into your local community.

As you can see with Nestle temporarily changing their business operations in Russia, your actions matter!

Big actions, small actions – ALL your actions matter!

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End of Q1: looking back and planning forward

Yes, the first quarter of the year is drawing to a close. Thinking back, I had a lot of ideas of what I would accomplish and close out in the first three months of the year. One top priority was to get on top of my yearly taxes. I’m pleased to say that this one priority was completed as planned.

2022 March – Q1 ends today

Yes, I will be celebrating with a nice meal this weekend. After all, celebrating small success keeps motivation up and trains the mind to pursue bigger and better goals all the while keeping me on track. I know I’ll stay on track since I don’t want to miss out on my treat.

Now, there is off course a flip side to this beautiful coin. I set out to learn a lot more about how to improve this blog. Did I achieve everything? Unfortunately, no, I did not finish my WordPress learning journey. I am the first to admit that I have an unhealthy relationship with news and I binge read – especially if it impacts the lives of millions of people negatively like the war in Ukraine. I did spend way too much time finding out what the latest is instead of focusing on my learning goals.

I did start however and I have a plan which I started working through and that is always a good place to be. “Well begun is half done!” is an old saying attributed to Aristotle and which I agree with wholeheartedly. Knowing what will need to be done prior to starting is valuable information and allows for unforeseen circumstances and disruptions without derailing the overall plan.

Also, it is said that people overestimate what they can do in one year but underestimate what they can achieve in 5 to 10 years. In addition, I did start to be more physically active which is already showing positive results. I feel more energetic, seem to need less sleep and feel better, more balanced than before.

In summary, I have not achieved everything I have set out to do. Having said that, I have finished all the important items, am well on my way to finishing my learning goals and have taken on an additional task. Not bad, I say.

What will Q2 hold?

For me, I will focus on finishing on my Q1 item. Science has shown that stress arises more from open item than too much to do. So, let’s start with finishing. Once I have cleared the old tasks, I’ll set myself new goals.

How about you? What are you proud of when you look back over the last 3 months? I am sure there is at least one thing you can think off.

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Keep showing your support and remeber to take action

The war in Ukraine has been going on for a full month now!

Flag of Ukraine
Flag of Ukraine; Source: Wikipedia

At this point, the war is still in the news as more and more war crimes happen in the region. There is still support for Ukrainians from civilians and aid agencies all over the world and I hope it will continue.

It is important that the attention remains because there are conflicts which no longer show up on our radars. Do you still remember the civil war in Syria? Did you know that over 6 million refugees fled their country? Inside Syria, another 6 million people are displaced. Yes, a total of 13 million people left their home for fear of death, injury or worse. The worst may be over by now but the war in Syria is still a crisis.

And what about Afghanistan, Lebanon or Yemen? They are still in crisis too. This is not a “what about-ism”. I’m merely trying to highlight how many war zones we currently have on this beautiful world.

According to Wikipedia, there are 57 ongoing armed conflicts at time of writing. 57! That’s too much. Looking at the Global Conflict Tracker, none of them are improving.

Are you overwhelmed yet? Do you think you are too far away to make a difference?

There is always the option to either donate to aid organizations or to volunteer for charities who champion peace and human rights such as Amnesty International.

The most important step is to take responsibility for your own actions. Yes, your actions – no matter how small – make a difference. Stopping a bully picking on a smaller child in kindergarten in a productive way will have an impact on both children. Reporting crime when you see it, is another good example – even if you think that nothing will come from it.

Taking part in protests and calling your political representative to push for change are also a great way to ensure your voice is heard. So is to run for office yourself; even if you participate on a school board, you will have a chance to make this world a better place.

It is important that you do your part.

This includes to show up at the voting booth and vote for the peaceful, democratic, inclusive party. The party that comes up with plans for the future and ideas on how to keep everyone included. Vote as if your life depended on it – because sooner or later, it will.

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Time to get fit with purpose

This week, I’ve been trying to stop doom scrolling and it is harder than I thought. The bad news seems to drain me emotionally and yet, keeps me stuck on the news cycle.

Worst of all: I became aware of how unprepared I am for any kind of disruption to my life!

I don’t know about you or your lifestyle, but I wouldn’t even know what to do in a crisis like in Ukraine. I have no idea where the nearest shelter is or what the official sirens sound like.

Even worse: I’m still so unfit, I’m not sure I would have it in me to flee a war zone. I’m not even blaming it on COVID which didn’t help. Yes, I did start doing Yoga somewhat regularly since the beginning of the year and I definitely feel more flexible, but I have not improved much in terms of strength or aerobic fitness which would be needed for walking long distances, running or simply going without food for more than a few hours.

Also, I’m in no way suggesting that I’m going to turn into a survivalist with hundreds of tins of food and a mountain of toilet paper at home – not at all. All I’m thinking of doing is to get into better shape so that if I ever found myself in a hard spot, that I’m physically well enough to deal with the situation.

If you think this is a narcissistic response to the war, I agree. It is self centered. Having said that, it’s a lot easier to help others when in the shape to do so. Or in the words of every airline safety video ever: “Put your own mask on first, because that is the only way, you then can help others to put on theirs.”

For that reason, I encourage you to do the same. Keep looking after yourself by keeping fit and also well informed of what is going on around you.

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Stop doom scrolling and take action for a better future

Since Thursday, 24 February 2022, I’ve been doom scrolling nearly every day. Yes, I am one of those people who wake up and before doing anything else, I check if president Zelenskyy is still alive and what the latest atrocities in Ukraine are. I do the same before going to bed and have lost countless hours of sleep that way.

What should I have done instead?

I could have signed up as a virtual volunteer in aid of Ukraine, I could have done volunteering in my local area, I could have tidied my flat. As Beverley Knight sang “Shoulda Woulda Coulda means I’m out of time”. I can’t change the past and rather than continuing with doom scrolling or hoping I had done differently, I better set my eyes on more productive behaviours in the future.

The first change I’ll make is to use a different alarm clock. Yes, I will banish my mobile phone which used to be my alarm clock and go back to using an old fashioned one. That alone should give me back half hour every day in the morning.

Further, I’ll limit my news reading to 10 minutes each right after breakfast, lunch and stopping work for the day. This should keep me up to date without taking up too much of my time.

With this new found time, I’ll focus back on my goals of learning new skills as I described earlier this year. I will also continue to support Ukraine, democracy and liberal values as much as I can through actions. I hope you do too.