I've Been Struggling
A diary entry. With a point.
I’ve been struggling.
Personally. Professionally. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically. Every day has felt like a fight.
When life is hard.
When up feels like down.
When your chest feels heavy before your feet even hit the floor.
When the smallest tasks feel impossible.
When your wins don’t feel like wins.
When you look around and don’t recognize your own life.
When the things you worked so hard for start to feel hollow.
That’s where I’ve been and what I’ve been carrying. I wish I could say I’m on the other side of this but I don’t have a clean conclusion. I’m still in it and trying to figure it all out.
When people feel lost, depleted, or like everything’s slipping out from under them, the instinct is to look for comfort. To self-soothe. We reach for something—someone, anything—that might help us feel even slightly more okay. That might give us back a sliver of control or familiarity or warmth.
Sometimes that comfort is healthy. A friend. A routine. A therapist. A walk. A good cry. Other times, it’s impulsive. Texting the ex. Doom scrolling. Pouring another drink. Obsessing over work. Buying something we don’t need.
In the sustainability space, we talk a lot about the attitude-behavior gap. Or at least I do😜. The disconnect between what people say they value and how they actually behave. When people say they care about sustainability, but their behavior tells a different story
So many sustainability leaders chalk that up to apathy. That people don’t care enough. That they don’t have enough information. That they need better labels. More education. Clearer incentives. Blah, blah, blah.
But the reality is that in those moments— standing in line, clicking “add to cart,” swiping their card for something shiny and unnecessary, it’s often not because they’ve stopped caring. Or that they don’t care about the planet, about garment workers, about rising carbon emissions, or whatever.
It’s that the ache they’re feeling is louder than the impact of their choices. And in that moment, comfort feels more urgent than conscience.
Humans are wired to avoid pain and seek relief. Emotional or physical, it doesn’t matter. The brain doesn’t always distinguish. It just wants safety.
This is why understanding consumer behavior in the context of sustainability work is so incredibly important.
People’s choices aren’t made in a vacuum. They’re driven by stress, identity, fear, hope, insecurity, and survival. If we reduce behavior down to logic, education, or morality, we miss the opportunity to shift it in a meaningful way.
From economic to political, from personal to psychological, there’s a lot happening in the world. People are carrying more than ever.
The only way forward is a human-centered approach to sustainability.
An approach that respects the complexity of what people are navigating. An approach that understands behavior change is not just about more information.
So I’ll ask you:
How are you acknowledging the weight your customers, your community, and your peers are carrying? Not just in words, but in action.
Everyone’s carrying something. Are you paying attention?
This often happens to those doing the right thing, who are aligned to their purpose, and following their path. It is a twisted form of affirmation as well as a message to give the same energy to your rest and replenishment as you do to your life's mission. I hope you will heed the message. Sending you hugs, high vibes, and much love!✨️💖✨️
Interestingly, human behavior in making lasting change is what I research. I find that, due to these complexities, we cannot make a solid conclusion about such a dynamic being.
With that said, we also cannot discount the importance of educating the masses and remaining consistent in our efforts to inform people of the lasting impact of their seemingly minor decision. We, also, cannot assume that some people *aren't* aware and are apathetic to the cause.
Therefore, what I do is be a bit more straightforward: we all get down. It is understandable in the erratic time we are in. BUT just because we are stressing out doesn't mean we add to the problem to make ourselves feel better. It is counterintuitive to current and previous efforts of improvement.
With people who probably don't know and don't care- and only if they ask for some validation, I tell them something similar: it is easy to go back on our values when things get difficult, but it doesn't me throw up our hands and do whatever we want, adding to the destruction. Consider gratitude and journal, or color, or go outside, or do something you wouldn't normally do. Get out of that funk so you can recenter. It's okay to have hard days, just don't make further choices you'll regret.
Appealing to both logic and emotion can help. But each person is different, so it depends on what they say and how it is stated. Still working on figuring out clues to that one.
I hope you find what you need and are able to find some peace.