Don’t try to guilt me into things

Don’t try to guilt me into things

Don’t try to guilt me into things

1. Don’t try to guilt me into things

• Don’t try to guilt me into things

Don’t try to guilt me into things

Don’t try to guilt me into things

I will hate myself for the next two weeks if you try to guilt me into things don’t do it

Why Feeling Guilty is Bad for the Environment.

According to wikipedia, “Guilt is is an emotion that occurs when a person believes that they have violated a moral standard.” In other words, those guilty feelings we have rear their heads when we think we have done something wrong (or when we have actually done something wrong). 

I wrote about this a while back when I first began my BNN challenge but the behavior of ‘feeling guilty’ has consistently come to my attention over the years as a way for me to bypass actually making solid changes in my life. 

Guilt pops up a lot surrounding some of my minor everyday environmentally responsible tasks. If, for example, I throw a banana peel into the trash instead of the compost heap, I get a twinge of guilt. If I forget to bring my reusable bags to the grocery store, up comes some more guilt. The guilt happens almost as a self-inflicted punishment: I am being ‘bad’ so I feel guilty. Problem is, the end result of my behavior doesn’t change. The banana remains in the trash and I need to get new bags at check out. I feel “bad” and the environment looses out too. Guilt is making us all suffer. 

So, why put the guilt on ourselves in the first place? There must be some benefit, right? In the realm of things bad and good there is always a judge involved. My inner judge tells me I am a ‘good’ person if I ‘feel guilty’ for doing something bad. Do you follow? My guilt proves to me that I care about the environment. My actions say the opposite. 

The problem with all of this feeling guilty, good person, bad person, proof, judgy stuff is that though in our inner sphere it may seem as though all is well, mama nature gets completely negated in the process. Being a better steward of the earth requires our conscious action, not our inaction and subsequent feelings of guilt.

So what are we to do if we are passionate about the environment but stuck in the delusional guilt trap?

1) Drop the guilt. You don’t need it. It doesn’t feel ‘good’ and it likely isn’t motivating you to change your behavior. Instead feeling guilty is allowing you to justify doing things that don’t sit well with your value system. Let it go.

3) Be Mindful of your actions. Forget the good vs. bad, right vs. wrong and recognize that everything you do has an impact and thus makes a difference. Perhaps knowing your power will be a healthy motivator.

3) Encourage Yourself and Others: The best way to learn new things and to change behaviors is through positive reinforcement. Celebrate when you throw the banana peel in the compost heap,or remember to  take your reusable bag to the grocery store. Praise your loved ones when they make effort to be green too! Being a responsible global citizen will be way more fun.