What if we act as if we love the future?

I wrote the below about climate action, but it seems to meet the moment more generally. It’s an excerpt from my book WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT?, about climate solutions and building the world we want to live in.

We’re about to see how much we can get right on climate and the environment in the USA without federal government support – or with its infuriating opposition. Take a deep breath, find your role, roll up your sleeves, get tenacious.

Here’s some guidance, that I do my best to follow, that perhaps will be of use to you in this fraught time. But even if you right now get no further than considering the headline question (my favorite I’ve ever written) that is enough: What if we act as if we love the future?

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1. KEEP SHOWING UP

This is not a spectator sport. It’s not just billionaires and politicians who will decide our future — it’s small business owners and students and citizens; it’s whoever steps up and whoever you bring along with you. Take breaks but keep going. We shape the future.

2. BRING YOUR SUPERPOWERS

Be gentle with yourself on the “What are you good at?” question. Put your insecurities aside and simply consider what you have to offer — in your personal life, professional life, and civic life. If we each harness our superpowers, that will actually enable the radical changes we need.

3. JOIN SOMETHING

Contribute your skills to an existing effort — make it possible. Build the website, raise the funds, recruit the talent, plan the events. As Bill McKibben puts it, “Faced with the kind of crises that we face, the most important thing that an individual can do is to not always be an individual.” Move from “I” to “we.”

4. FIND YOUR PEOPLE

Someone recently asked me, “Who are your people?” And without a moment of hesitation, directly from my soul came these words: “My people are conjurers. They don’t stop at dreaming, they make something where there was nothing, something needed. They make magic in the real world.” It gives me goosebumps to think how lucky I am to get to say that sincerely. Support your people and love them, and hold on. Lean into possibility together.

5. BE A PROBLEM SOLVER

What this moment in history requires is a relentless focus on solutions. Whether your purview is finance, energy, urban planning, manufacturing, construction, law, food, administration, or transportation, there is nothing more attractive than a problem solver.

6. CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES

That’s how my dad put it. My mom prefers the cornier, “Do your best and don’t worry about the rest.” And it’s the best advice my parents have given me. Keep things in perspective by keeping at least one eye firmly on the future of life on Earth. Choose something to fight for, and, please, no friendly fire.

7. NOURISH JOY

There are so many things that need to be done — don’t pick something that makes you miserable! It’s imperative to avoid burnout, so choose what enlivens and energizes you. Take climate change seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously. The work can and should be gratifying and punctuated with joy.

8. LOVE NATURE

And remember that you are a part of it. I can’t say it better than Rachel Carson: “Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”

Here’s what I know: There are innumerable possible futures. I know that we each get some say in which future we’ll collectively have, and a chance to help build it. I know that every tenth of a degree of warming we prevent, every centimeter of sea level rise we avoid, every increasingly unnatural disaster we avert, every species we save, every bit of nature we protect and restore, matters. I know that our efforts add up, and that our fates are intertwined. Averting climate catastrophe, this is the work of our lifetimes. So, go where there is need and where your heart can find a home. And when it all feels too much, return to this simple guiding question: What if we act as if we love the future?

Be tenacious on behalf of life on Earth.