Archive for the ‘Act Now’ Category

25 Jan

Revitalizing Resolutions—Making a Commitment to Others

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now, Inspiration, volunteer. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

As we close in on the end of January…how are those resolutions going for you?

I don’t want to come from the jaded, pessimistic place of “Done and dusted—resolutions don’t work” that informs so many memes and conversations, but history and culture-following science and surveys show that by week three or four of January, most have fallen off the resolution wagon.

I can point you toward hundreds of coaches who will each tell you ways to stick to it and truly commit to yourself…but that’s not why we’re here together.

I would, however, like you to consider adding a resolution and re-committing to this one over and over.

In 2022, the TOP TEN NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS were:

  1. Exercise more
  2. Lose weight
  3. Get organized
  4. Learn a new skill or hobby
  5. Live life to the fullest
  6. Save more money/spend less money
  7. Quit smoking
  8. Spend more time with family and friends
  9. Travel more
  10. Read more

I love these—what amazing goals and intentions.

If you are recognizing yourself in one or more of these, congratulations on your engagement and commitment to improvement. I think it’s safe to say any one of these is worthy of your energy and attention and follow through.

I’d like to suggest we add an eleventh “TOP” resolution to the list (OK, I’ll admit, if we’re ranking, I’d like to push it to the number one spot on the list):

BE OF SERVICE

I like how Justice Sonia Sotomayor, when speaking of her new children’s picture book (Just Help! How to Build a Better World) says, “Every day, you can make a difference by helping someone. Each time you do, you become part of something bigger than yourself.”

This doesn’t have to be an earth-shifting change. You don’t need to sacrifice comfort or happiness or ease—just give up a slice of selfishness (and we are all selfish on several levels—not casting aspersions). OK, slight correction, because, in some ways, our selfishness does provide us comfort. So, you don’t need to shed it all, just commit a slice to someone or many others outside yourself.

We have concentric circles.

  • Self
  • Family
  • Home
  • Work and co-workers
  • Neighborhood
  • Community of place or activities (might also include spirituality and politics)
  • Those who share our identity definitions
  • National identity
  • And we can go on and on…species, resident of the planet, part of the galaxy, universe, etc.

Within those circles, it doesn’t take much to find someone to help. To show kindness. To connect. To be inspired by and to comfort. And, we all know, the person being of service ALWAYS gets more out of the exchange than the person being served.

There is so much to discover about claiming and fueling your power when you are of service. Each day, just finding a way. Asking yourself, “How and who can I help today?”

Hold a door. Tell someone you’re thinking of them. Give a compliment. Express gratitude. Make a choice or a change for the planet. Sign up for a volunteer gig. Mentor. Donate to a cause. Encourage someone. Pick up trash. Over-deliver what someone is expecting from you at work or home. Think added value. Say “I love you” first.

At the end of the day, being able to say, “Because of me…this, and I added more to the world than I took” is an incredible feeling.

We all want that. Each night. That.

5 Jan

Insta-Motivation and Why We Do What We Do

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now, Inspiration, volunteer. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Like the adage about a tree falling in the forest…if we do something kind or philanthropic and don’t get the selfie, does it still count?

With Instagram and every other image-driven platform, there has been a huge rise in performative charity. You know, the buying a meal for a homeless person only after you’ve got your camera set up or friend recording from across the street…or giving a huge tip to a server to change their life as you zoom in on their emotional reaction. How many cameras get trained on the parked car before a rescuer saves the terrified dog cowering underneath?

So, the question remains, if there is no glory, will we still be kind?

I know the shortcut and instinctive answer is “Yes. Of course,” and we quickly dismiss those attention seekers as shallow and unlike us…but is that the case? It’s not a bad thing necessarily—we can want the photo—perhaps not for social media clicks and follows, but to share an amazing story with loved ones, or as a reminder and motivator to ourselves of a special, and genuinely valuable, time and experience.

There’s some new science about this, comparing “opportunistic” do-gooders (those doing it for the posts and attention) vs. those who commit acts of kindness driven by compassion (when no one is necessarily watching). I’d venture most of us are somewhere on the spectrum between.

Data from 12,259 respondents who took an Emotional Intelligence Test with PsychTests found some differences in altruism based on motivation. For instance: 62% of opportunistic do-gooders believe the statement “the end justifies the means” (compared to 30% from the “genuine” crowd). 46% feel that you NEED to step on a few toes to get ahead while only 13% of the genuinely motivated agree. 54% of those seeking the praise of others would rather live a life of success than a life according to their own values (22% of the genuine folks) and a dispiriting 37% would encourage a depressed person to “toughen up.”

Some other things learned might increase some sense of compassion for the identified “posers” as we learn that 39% are uncomfortable actually consoling others, 50% say they lack a purpose and feel directionless, 31% feel like imposters and that they don’t deserve the success they have, 46% do not experience a sense of satisfaction after an achievement unless there is praise attached, and 43% will change themselves (beliefs, opinions, appearance, behavior) in order to please others.

I won’t suggest any motivation that gets us in action for others ought to be labeled bad or negative…just interesting. I am still happy to put all the weight behind the concept of a net gain, and that a meal served is a meal served no matter how it got to a hungry person. I don’t think we need a purity test for good deeds, but I am a fan of introspection and checking in with ourselves in every area of life. This is perhaps an invitation to gaze inward for a second, take stock, and then go out and redouble our efforts to have the positive impact we know we are supposed to have, with or without our cameras.

Hoping this finds you well, moving quickly through the sticky parts, and affirming great ways you’re going to rock our world.

29 Jul

SLOW DOWN!!! Earth Overshoot Day

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now, Environment. Tagged: , , , .

desert bare

This red-letter day each year comes around on a different date…and I am bummed it is so early in 2019…July 29! In this case, RED letter is bad news.

Today is Earth Overshoot Day—the day the scales tip OUT of our favor. This is the day that humans have used up the maximum resources that the earth can replenish in a year. Starting tomorrow, we are digging too deeply, past what can be renewed. This day is creeping up earlier every year—just a few years ago we hit this point in mid-October. Now it is in July.

Ouch

We keep getting more efficient at screwing ourselves up!

Most often, in life, it is beneficial to be ahead of schedule for things — better than the alternative, being late. Well, when it comes to annually using up our world’s resources, the early bird doesn’t get the worm…the early bird probably only gets hungry, and thirsty, and hot…

…very hot.

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. The Global Footprint Network measures humanity’s demand for, and supply of, natural resources and ecological services, and at some point on the calendar, we get to the point where we are in a deficit compared to what can be provided, so we are technically chipping away resources, increasing tonnage of waste, exhausting the supply of potable water and fertile land, and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In banking terms, we are drawing down the earth’s principal rather than responsibly living off the interest.

Ecological overshoot is a non-sustainable way of life and possible for only a limited period of time before we degrade the system so far that we end up with water shortages, desertification, soil erosion, reduced cropland activity, overgrazing, rapid species extinction, collapse of fisheries, and increased carbon concentration…sound familiar?

nasa-WKT3TE5AQu0-unsplash

Our global overshoot has more than doubled since 1961. According to Global Footprint Network, we are now living large, literally, as it would take much more than our single Earth to actually support our current consumption, and predictions state we would require two entire planets to support our usage trends by mid-century. Use THIS TOOL to calculate your own personal ecological footprint, and see, if everyone lived like YOU, how many Earths we would need to support that kind of life. It can be shocking.

Only 14% of our world lives in countries with more biocapacity than usage footprint, including Australia, Canada, Finland, Chile, and Brazil. The United States is squarely in the not-so-happy red zone, using more natural resources than we can possibly provide.

TAKE ACTION:

Here are some ideas to #MoveTheDate (trying to push the date we move into the red zone LATER on the calendar)

THAT would be progress, and YOU can definitely play a large part!

16 Jul

Mandela Day 2019 – #ActionAgainstPoverty

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now, Inspiration.

Screen Shot 2019-07-16 at 11.29.27 AM

July 18, is Mandela Day, a cause for celebration and gratitude. A day for looking for connection with others, not distance or difference. A day to honor and touch others.

Especially now. Especially in days so dark in so many parts of the world. A day we ALL need, desperately, with an eye toward building bridges between people, beliefs, parties, and privileges.

July 18 is the birthday of Nelson Mandela, “Madiba” as a name of respect from his clan heritage. The official Mandela Day recognition is now a decade old, since launching in 2009. In celebration of a decade, the next chapter (next ten years) are to be focused on five areas: education & literacy, food & nutrition, shelter, sanitation, and active citizenship.

For individuals and communities, it is a perfect day to look at how we respond to crisis, to disagreement, to discord. A shining opportunity to look at how we do for others and how we might do one thing more. A stunning day to look at how we sometimes retreat when chaos is too strong for us to navigate…when the exact opposite is the answer…to go forward and to reach out and do something for someone.

Mandela Day is a global call to action. Each of us has the power to change the world for the better. Each of us can make an impact on how we, as a global community, embrace peace, a shared sense of community, liberty, quality of life, and assured safety. Each of us can.

Human rights for every human, no one more than another–that is when we know we did it. We have a lot, still, to do. Many minds must open. Many hearts must open. Many conversations must open. Many hands must open.

Find listings of actions and activities and ways to get involved around the world here. Mandela worked for peace for 67 years–Mandela Day’s request is that we each start with just 67 minutes, especially in taking action against poverty. Got an hour for the rest of us? If not today, use this special date to commit yourself to doing something soon.

How will you open hand and heart today, to touch another? For Madiba? For yourself? For all of us?

14 Aug

Being Ahead of Schedule Is Bad – Earth Overshoot Day

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now, Environment. Tagged: , , .

earth-spaceOuch

We keep getting more efficient at screwing ourselves up!

Most often, in life, it is beneficial to be ahead of schedule for things–better than the alternative, being late. Well, when it comes to annually using up our world’s resources, the early bird doesn’t get the worm…the early bird probably only gets hungry, and thirsty, and hot, very hot.

Earth Overshoot Day should be sometime in early October, this red-letter-in-a-bad-way day, but this year, 2015, it happened yesterday, on August 13 (six days ahead of last year–a bad trend). Yikes!

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. The Global Footprint Network measures humanity’s demand for, and supply of, natural resources and ecological services, and at some point on the calendar, we get to the point where we are in a deficit compared to what can be provided, so we are technically drawing down resources and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We owe the world, and that tipping point date gets earlier every year. In banking terms, we are drawing down the earth’s principal rather than responsibly living off the interest.

Ecological overshoot is a non-sustainable way of life and possible for only a limited period of time before we degrade the system so far that we end up with water shortages, desertification, soil erosion, reduced cropland activity, overgrazing, rapid species extinction, collapse of fisheries, and increased carbon concentration…sound familiar?

Our global overshoot has nearly doubled since 1961. According to Global Footprint Network, we are now living large, literally, as it would take 1.6 Earths to actually support our current consumption, and predictions state we would require two entire planets to support our usage trends by mid-century. Only 14% of our world lives in countries with more biocapacity than usage footprint, including Australia, Canada, Finland, Chile, and Brazil. The United States is squarely in the not-so-happy red zone, using more natural resources than we can possibly provide.

TAKE ACTION:

Check out this interactive footprint calculator to discover how much land area it takes to support your own lifestyle, discover your biggest areas of resource consumption, and learn what you can do to tread more lightly on the earth.

4 Nov

Voter Lookup Tool Makes it Easy

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now. Tagged: , , , , .

It’s perhaps not convenient, but it IS important. Please don’t spend any time creating excuses–just participate in creating the society that matters most to you!

Doublecheck your polling place here…

27 Oct

Celebrate National Bat Week

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now. Tagged: , , , , , .

B&W batIt’s lovely synchronistic timing that National Bat Week is the seven days including Halloween (Bat Week=October 26-November 1).

Here’s why bats are NOT scary, but the prospect of losing them is terrifying:

> Bats maintain the health of our environment–eating insects and controlling those populations is hugely important, to which any scratchy mosquito bite you’ve ever had attests. A single bat can eat up to 5,000 insects per night.

>With a healthy bat population, farmers need fewer pesticides, which means safer food sources for us. Bats save the agricultural industry in America about $23 billion per year.

>Bats pollinate plants and disperse seeds, invigorating the health of forests, jungles, and many other ecosystems. Bats are the ONLY pollinators of agave–so your forward-thinking sweetener AND your tequila go out the window with no bats!

BUT… a fungus called “white nose syndrome” is decimating many bat populations–up to six million bats have died from it to date–add that to the destruction of habitat and difficult climate issues affecting their health, and we’ve got a potentially buggy problem on our hands.

Be a friend to bats. Advocate for them. Protect their habitats. Create new habitat (bat houses on the side of your home or trees are a great addition to landscaping). I’m sure someone can teach me why I should love mosquitoes and wish more of them would feed on me…but until then…I’m all for the bats.

22 Oct

Some Behaviors are Inexcusable–Push Back and Stand With Jetta

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Jetta photo from Facebook page Stand-With-Jetta

Jetta photo from Facebook page Stand-With-Jetta

Jetta Fosburg is a hero of mine. The ten-year-old girl decided on her own to cut off her long hair to donate it to a charity that creates wigs for children battling cancer. Wigs for Kids got 14 inches of Jetta’s hair for its great work, and do you know what this young Dayton, Ohio girl got?

Bullied at school. Made fun of. Teased and mocked and called “ugly” for her newly-short hair.

That doesn’t work for me. It doesn’t work for me that people torture Renee Zelweger or Bruce Jenner or anyone for the way they look.

I admit I might be extra-sensitive to this issue from my work with burn survivors, but shouldn’t every single one of us be extra-sensitive to this issue?

Show Jetta your support. Hashtag a bunch of social media posts: #StandWithJetta

Like the Facebook page to show your support.

Don’t stand for the attitude of Jetta’s school principal, who, according to Jetta’s mom,  “told me that he didn’t know of any child that had ever died from words. And that we needed to toughen up and deal with it…”

It’s good to know you are the right one, Jetta, and that they are wrong–but I suspect it still hurts. I hope it helps to know–we’ve got your back on this!

23 May

Welcome to World Turtle Day

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , .

117368_4372Today, May 23, is World Turtle Day, so give some love to the shelled wonders of the world. More than one species of sea turtle is endangered, and all of them need us to be caretakers of the seas to better protect the environment they share with so many species. Saving the integrity of oceans saves land masses as well.

Toward that end, and trying to better aqua environments, Greenpeace is championing a proposal for a Global Network of Marine Preserves. These preserves would be protected ocean regions, more than 40 percent of international waters, beyond control of individual governments, but critical for the health and vitality of sea life. The global sanctuary network can prohibit overfishing, mining, and drilling as well as begin to heal regions and populations from climate change and pollution.

As you head into a holiday weekend, send an S.O.S. to world leaders on behalf of turtles everywhere, and all their aquatic neighbors, to protect their homes…and lives.

HAPPY TURTLE DAY!

15 Apr

Make Your Tax Refund Tax-Deductible

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Act Now, Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , .

taxcheckWhew. Did you finish? Get those taxes into the mailbox yet? As I’m writing, you’ve still got a few hours left, but not many. April 15 can be a real son of a gun for many of us as we gather piles of paper and reports around us that get scattered a few times by the breeze or a cat or dog or kids or our occasional fits of temper…but eventually we muddle through some ten-ninety-something form and stand in line at the post office, muttering that we’ll never put it off until the last minute again.

So, Forbes tells us the average tax refund this year is about $3,000 and more than 90% will be processed in less than 21 days. Ready for a wacky thought? Donate that money to charity. Don’t wait until December to give to organizations that have your passions and interests at heart. Everybody waits until the end of the year, which makes the rest of the calendar uncomfortably lean for most non-profits.

You probably didn’t budget the refund money since you couldn’t plan well until you did the paperwork to find out how much it would be…and while extra cash flow never hurts…you did OK so far this year without additional infusions of dollars. It could make a beautiful addition to your wardrobe, or a fun entertainment splurge, or that widget you’ve been eyeing that nobody got you from your gift list last December…but it could also mean less empty stomachs for some kids, or life-saving malaria nets, or an endangered species being better protected, or a school being built, life-saving medical care or medicines, a creative endeavor being realized, a teacher not having to empty their own wallet to get supplies in the classroom, a safe source of drinking water or hygiene. The list is as diverse as we are, but the commonality is that it could be YOU that makes a difference. You can’t solve every problem by throwing money at it, but you can help those who have boots on the ground working tirelessly every day in our stead while we have to go on with our lives, keep on working. A truly helpful charity closing down because of lack of funds is tragic, and it happens all the time.  Giving is low, need is high, and not every organization will make it until December when people loosen up their own pursestrings and get more generous for good causes.

Think about it, when that multi-colored check comes from Uncle Sam. You could turn it around right away and put it to work making our world better. It would be huge, and, it would be tax-deductible for next year’s return.

Get a receipt!

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