When Environmental News Intensifies Your Concern: Your Emotional Emergency Reset Toolkit

Because sustainable impact starts with sustainable minds.

As sustainability leaders, we're uniquely positioned to drive meaningful environmental impact. Yet with this opportunity comes an emotional weight that many of us share – from those 3am moments where we picture of adult children asking ‘what did you do mommy’, to the daily challenge of maintaining optimism in the face of concerning environmental facts about planetary boundaries being breached etc…It’s not easy.

Evidence shows that managing these emotions effectively is the crucial leadership skill for sustained impact in this defining decade for humanity.

Let me explain this a little further by sharing some information about how our brains work.

‘The human brain is focused predominantly on survival which has served us well in evolutionary terms. Anything that we believe could threaten our safety,' (for which the climate crisis absolutely does) '..promotes a lot of attention and neural circuitry’ (Bamber, 2019, p.13). When this happens the amygdala, a part of the limbic system, sends cortisol to disable the rational decision-making parts of the brain (neocortex and prefrontal cortex) creating what Goleman described as an ‘amygdala hijack’ (Goleman, 2005). It does this so the body can respond quickly deciding whether to fight, freeze or flee the situation. Therefore, ‘action that takes place whilst in this survival mode is automatic and likely to be irrational’ (Rogers, J, 2016, p. 67).

For us to be able to engage in our important work in an impactful way and not respond from this irrational place, we need to appreciate our human response and take time to acknowledge what is going on and manage it. Prioritising activities that bring us back to a place where we can engage our logical parts of our brains is a must if we are to have meaningful impact at this extraordinary chapter in human history.

Here's your proven toolkit for managing yourself back to a place where you can access all your skills, perspective and ideas to drive constructive, impactful action:

1. The Mindful Documentation Method

Acknowledge your emotions through structured reflection. Document your concerns and their source, then identify one specific action within your influence. This evidence-based technique prevents emotional overwhelm while maintaining professional focus.

2. The Sphere of Influence Strategy

Just as local initiatives often create the most significant environmental changes, focus your energy where you have direct impact. List three specific actions within your current projects that align with your broader environmental mission. This targeted approach amplifies your effectiveness while reducing overwhelm.

3. Connect with Your Impact Circle

You're part of a growing community of sustainability leaders navigating similar challenges. Schedule monthly connections with other environmental professionals who understand your journey. These interactions provide both emotional support and practical solutions.

4. Strategic Information Management

Designate specific times for processing environmental updates that are relevant to your work, followed by identifying actionable steps. This boundary-setting maintains awareness while protecting your emotional resilience and productivity.

5. Legacy-Focused Reset

Reconnect with your unique contribution to environmental progress. Consider: What distinctive perspective or skill set do you bring to this challenge? Focus on maximizing your particular role, get focused on it, obsess over it even. Defining what you are going to make a difference on and accepting that you aren’t responsible for it all frees us up to engage our unique qualities and put them into action.

Remember

Your capacity to maintain focus while deeply caring about environmental issues isn't just beneficial – it's essential for creating lasting impact. By managing these emotions effectively, you're better equipped to drive meaningful change over the long term. It’ll help you to ensure you bring your unique and much needed, insights, perspectives, ideas and leadership style to contribute to the formation of a brighter world for the next generation. Because we all want to leave this world in a better way than we found it, don’t we?

Next step

You're not alone in this journey. Across the sustainability sector, leaders like you, are learning to acknowledge this balance of making progress on their important work with emotional resilience. If you found the themes in this article resonated, why not book a free confidential call here to discuss?

References

Bamber, R. (2019). How can neuroscience inform our coaching practice - six strategies to facilitate an optimal brain state in coaches. Development and Learning in Organizations, 33, (4)??13-15, https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DLO-01-2019-0007

Goleman D. (2005). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York, CA: Bantam Books.

Rogers, J. (2016). Coaching skills. The definitive guide to being a coach. (4th ed.). New York, CA: McGraw-Hill Education.