Every day, we make choices that affect our environment. From the food we eat, to the goods we purchase, to the way that we treat our neighbors and community members. Every choice we make has a small impact. As we walk through our lives our individual impact leaves a permanent footprint in our wake.
It’s so easy to think, “it’s just one drink with a plastic straw” or “one new sweater from an unidentified factory” and even though we know that we should change our behavior, we haven’t. This is a habit. An addiction to the idea of single-use items, their cheap costs, and convenience. We can throw them away and replace them over and over again. But there is no such thing as “away”.
The collective “we” have found ourselves with some bad, un-earth-friendly habits. We are rapidly leaving a footprint on our planet so large that it can’t be washed clean by Earth’s natural processes.
The New Habitz team sees this happening, and we want to help stop this growing mess. Our goal is to leave the world more sustainable, healthier, and more cared for than we find it in today.
We recognize the need to be proactive if we want to keep this planet green and beautiful for future generations. So, for us, that means we need to focus on helping our community build NEW HABITS!
Why We Focus on Healthy Habits
Our society has picked up some bad habits along the road to prosperity – total reliance on CO2 emitting fossil fuels, the grandiose overuse of plastics that don’t break down, unpaid and unfair labor treated as an acceptable way to keep prices low, exploitation of our natural resources, an agricultural system producing more food with diminishing nutritional value, and the expectation of cheap clothing are just a few widespread examples of behaviors that we have come to expect from the world’s “leading” nations.
We do not have to accept this behavior from society’s decision makers.
And more over, if we want these things to change, it’s up to us to change them. Things got this way through a lack of global transparency, from an addiction to money so deeply ingrained in our society that we started valuing profits over people and planet, and from an assumption that we have no power to enact change or speak up on a grand scale.
But we can create change through intentionally adopting new habits.
It’s in our hands to be conscious consumers and to expect more from our producers and manufacturers.
We have the power to flip the greed, the bad habits, the addiction to single-use, on its head. We can create demand for more sustainable and ethical options, and the global market will provide!
Every step towards sustainability starts with you.
The way we see it is that we have two options. We can whine about our world, or we can fix it. We choose to fix it. And that, for us, means sharing how to build healthy habits along with providing access to products from sustainable brands that help those habits take root.
Growing Sustainable and Healthy Habits
We know you can’t just wake up with a whole new lease on life and immediately change everything about the way you’re living. That’s not sustainable for you!
You can’t pour from an empty cup, and the transition to sustainable, healthy habits can be challenging. It’s important that you’re working towards building new habits that support a healthy mind and body while you’re working on making sustainable choices for your future.
What does “going green” mean to you? How do you make a change in your life? What is the best way for YOU to create an impact on a global level?
The answers lie in finding your unique holistic lifestyle. That’s going to look a little different for you than it does for your neighbor.
The new habits that you choose to add to your lifestyle, whether it’s adding more fruit to your diet, boycotting plastic bottles and straws, or biking instead of driving whenever possible, shouldn’t feel like a huge burden on you. These are slow, methodical steps towards a sustainable life with a smaller ecological footprint.
The change won’t happen overnight – we know! And whenever you need support, we are here for you with advice and supplies to help you along your journey.
Breaking Bad Habits
Just adding new habits to our lives isn’t always the answer. A lot of us have bad habits to attend to too like eating late at night, skipping exercise, never taking a break from work, or choosing a quick single-use option when we feel stressed. Once we’re on the path towards creating healthy new habits, make sure you’re looking at the habits you started your journey with too.
Breaking bad habits isn’t always easy. It’s about being consistent and determined. Here’s a quick overview to get you thinking:
- Identify the pattern of behavior you want to break – what triggers it? What happens before or after the behavior? How long does the urge last?
- Choose an alternative routine – choose a positive replacement for the urge.
- Make a plan for the slump – enlist someone to call to help keep you on track and set a guideline for how get back on track.
- Reward yourself when you succeed! But not with your bad habit. Choose something totally different to reward yourself with!
Are you ready for the change?
Follow Us On Social Media to Get Weekly Cues
We think a lifestyle of sustainability and self care should be accessible to everyone. It’s important for us to offer the information and the tools for success. That’s why we connect with brands that are based in providing quality products to help improve your lifestyle. Plus, we share ongoing healthy habits on our social media week over week.
The best place to follow along with new, monthly habits, get sustainability swaps, and celebrate pouring from a full cup, is instagram! You can follow us @newhabitz.nl!
