My Three-Part Approach to Overcoming Climate Anxiety
Heading into Climate Week, I have been reflecting on a topic that has become increasingly prevalent among people: climate anxiety. Climate or eco-anxiety is described as a “chronic fear of environmental doom” by the American Psychological Association and “a fairly recent psychological disorder afflicting individuals who worry about the environmental crisis” by Psychology Today.
Personally, I have managed to overcome climate anxiety despite being acutely aware of the many reasons to feel overwhelmed by the gravity of the climate, water, and biodiversity crisis. I have been relying on a simple yet potent approach cultivated in my personal life to keep me grounded in hope, not doom – by viewing the world through three distinct lenses:
Things I Can Control: From preventative care to time management, I am meticulous and methodical about aspects within my control that help me manage any feelings of anxiety. Personally, I’m an avid runner because I know the benefits extend well beyond the physical. I get some of my best ideas after hitting the pavement, and I find that running helps me shift my perspective to a positive outlook on things. Professionally, I manage my own schedule, which is unusual among peer level leaders. I know my priorities best and stay focused on delivering impactful outcomes this way, preparing myself to take on the challenges I face at work.
Things I Can Influence: Creating influence revolves around the relationships I have with my family, my friends, my P&G colleagues, and the broader community. Understanding my sphere of influence helps me direct my efforts where they matter most, fostering a sense of fulfillment that helps manage anxiety. Whether it's engaging in meaningful conversations with my kids or collaborating with my colleagues to advance our sustainability efforts, these connections fuel my drive. By nurturing these relationships, I bolster my own sense of purpose and amplify our collective efforts to combat climate challenges.
Things Beyond My Control or Influence: For me, faith plays a significant role in coping with this aspect. Prayer provides me with a sense of peace and acceptance, knowing that some circumstances lie outside my purview. That does not prevent me from doing everything I can to change things, but I try to not be attached to the outcomes I cannot control, in line with the wisdom of the famous Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
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The analogy in the business field mirrors how we look at our impact at 宝洁 . We employ a similar approach to help address some of the global challenges we are facing today – by acting.
Things P&G Can Control: We view the things we can control in “Our Home” – that is, our own operations and the products we create. As part of our Ambition 2030 goals, we’re building on the strength of four science-based pillars – Climate, Waste, Water and Nature – to reduce our environmental footprint and improve the livelihoods of people across our operations, supply chain, and the communities we serve.
Things P&G Can Influence: The things we can influence at P&G are in “Your Home” – that is, our consumers’ homes. We know that people want to buy products that they can feel good about, and they are increasingly considering the planet when making purchase decisions. We are innovating to develop products that deliver irresistible performance and enable our consumers to reduce their footprint when they use our products at home. For instance, when they wash on cold with Tide or Ariel to help reduce energy use without compromising on a superior clean, or when they skip the rinse before using their dishwasher with Cascade – enjoying clean dishes and water savings.
Things Beyond P&G’s Control or Influence: For challenges in our “Our Shared Home” – the planet – that are too big to tackle alone, we embrace radical collaboration to ensure the broader industry benefits from our innovation. This is evident in our open-arms approach to innovation – from developing and licensing our IP to inviting others into our Product Supply Innovation Center in Kronberg to share and reapply best practices and invent new solutions for Net Zero and water positive manufacturing. It is this spirit of collective action that gives me hope.
As I reflect on my personal journey overcoming feelings of anxiety, I find strength in the knowledge that we have the capacity to make a difference and turn climate anxiety into climate action. By recognizing what we can control, influence, and collaborate on, we pave the way for a more sustainable future.
Join me and share your comments: What gives you hope amid climate anxiety?
#ClimateWeek #Sustainability #ItsOurHome #ClimateAnxiety #PGEmployee
You said it well with radical collaboration comes hope. Never before have I seen peers, customers, public and private come together in the way I experience climate action every day. The series of small steps and working together to become leaps will get us there!
Business Expert & Board Member, Power Facilitator(r) and Consultant for High Performing Teams
1 年Virginie Helias Thank you for sharing. That is indeed the only way to approach this topic. And reality is, there are a lot of things that fall into the first 2 parts. We just need to do, rather than always talking and complaining.
Founding Partner|Business Coach|CEE EXPERT|Sustainable Transformation Evangelist|PeopleFirst
1 年Rationalizing the anxiety is the best way to cope with it building gradually acts that I consider ?progressive’. In my personal space I try to act and think sustainably. In all possible aspects, including a dramatic reduction in consumption. I also extended my house to make it almost completely carbon neutral. Together with our neighbors, we bought some land to grow it naturally (mainly vegetables for now, but we have ambitious plans). I volunteer to evangelize our local community, which also translates into business contacts as part of my roke in Sustainable Brands. The sky is the limit here, because thanks to professional contacts I help companies build purpose-led strategies and teach the incoming generation of managers at various university seminars. Acting with a growing number of conscious people around me is the best first step. Micro-actions in the private dimension also help a lot.
Enabling science-based approach to sustainability, through Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) solutions.
1 年Hi Virginie, thanks for bringing the discussion on this topic and sharing your approach to it. I started applying the same concept of control/influence/interest in other areas of life several years ago and it proved extremely helpful, especially in difficult moments. I agree with you it can be very beneficial in climate context as well: (1) be clear on what I can control, make sure I act on these elements and importantly, regularly remind myself that I do; (2) be clear on what I can influence so that each time such an opportunity presents itself, I make sure to grab it; (3) accept there are many more areas of interest on which I do not have influence or control. I would only add in (4) that with evolution of the space and myself, things may change over time. E.g. I could influence what my next role was, and therefore move items from my circle of interest to my circle of influence and ultimately to my circle of control. Grateful to P&G to allow me to take on the (dream) role I currently have ??
This actually works!