The monthly newsletter for aspiring downshifters,
sustainable living enthusiasts and sustainable small businesses.

April 2008
In this issue...

1. De-Stress Your Thinking - Part Two.
2. Surfing the Waves of Sustainability. Interview With Rob Drake-Knight.
3. Your exploration this month.
4. Quotes of the month
5. Want to comment or contribute?
6. Teleclasses and personal coaching

1. De-Stress Your Thinking - Part Two.

Last month, in part one of this article, we considered the symptoms of stressful thinking and how they affect us. Using two examples of stressful thinking – “I don’t have enough time” and “I’m not motivated,” I introduced you to a simple strategy for de-stressing such limiting thoughts. This month we’ll look at two more examples of stressful thoughts and how to turn them around to ways of thinking that are much more helpful for a sustainable life. (By the way, if you missed part one of the article, do email me and I’ll send you a copy.)

Stressful Thought Number 3: “I’m too scared”.

Actually, this one encompasses all sorts of smaller stressful thoughts to do with our competence, how others see us and the stories we tell ourselves about “what might happen if…” Some say that the word FEAR is an acronym for Fantasy Expressed As Reality because if you think back through all the fearful thoughts you’ve been having, you’ll probably realise that most of them never ever came true!

Let’s find a positive alternative. How about “I have the courage to handle this”? And, if you don’t believe that already, what needs to change for you to believe it?

There are many ways to handle specific fears – some through therapeutic or physical intervention. My favourite way, though, is very simple. Introduce a lot more love into your life. Love is an antidote to fear and the place to begin is with yourself! If this all sounds too namby-pamby for a hardened downshifter, just humour me for a moment and give it a try. How about taking some time off to look after yourself, improve your comfort levels, treat yourself to an aromatherapy massage, a hot bath, or a relaxing night out with friends.

Another anti-dote to fear is action. After taking some steps towards some serious self care, you will be ready to face your fears head on and watch them dissipate. If they don’t dissipate of their own accord, perhaps you need further information to convince you whether your fear really is something worth paying attention to. In that case, try re-directing your worry energy towards researching the information you need. Another way you can take action and practice handling fears is by exercising your courage muscles. How about deciding that you will do one small scary thing every day – just to push your boundaries a little at a time and to convince yourself that you can handle fear without it becoming a persistently stressful thought.

Stressful Thought Number 4: “I’m not good enough.”

We can create a positive alternative for this one that says something like:

“I’ve got exactly what it takes” or “This isn’t right for me.”

What needs to change for you to believe either of these and to know which one is more appropriate for you? You can probably sense that answering that question takes a great deal of honesty. Honesty firstly about your strengths and also what it is you really want to do. Suppose your boss offers you promotion at work and this stressful thought is triggered in you. You might find out whether the job is right for you by asking yourself “If I knew that I definitely did have what it takes, would I still want it?” To believe the positive alternatives, know and use your strengths, enjoy yourself and delegate the rest!

Hidden Gifts

There’s some very good news that underpins all of this talk of stressful thinking. Encoded within your stressful thinking, there is usually at least one hidden gift - an encouraging thought which you can use to de-stress your life:

“I don’t have enough time” might be telling you to pay attention to prioritising what’s important to you.

“I can’t be bothered” might be letting you know that your inspiration is in need of nourishment.

“I’m too scared” might be pointing the way for you to prioritise self-care.

“I’m not good enough” could be a call (or permission) for your honesty and authenticity to take centre stage for a while.

Conclusion

Here’s a summary of the strategy for de-stressing your thinking:

1. Notice a stressful thought
2. Turn it around to a positive alternative/opposite
3. Ask yourself “What needs to change for me to believe this?”
4. Uncover the message that’s the hidden gift in your stressful thinking.

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2. Surfing the Waves of Sustainability. Interview With Rob Drake-Knight.

Rob Drake-Knight is Sales and Marketing Director of Rapanui Clothing. I interviewed him about how he and his brother, Mart, came to set up their business:

Why did you set up your own business and how did this relate to what was happening in your personal life at the time?

“ Mart and I set up Rapanui due to a number of reasons – our lifestyle involves surfing, fishing, sailing and more – all involve contact with the sea, we were both affected by pollution in the sea and added to knowledge of the environment gained due to Mart’s studies (renewable energy) we felt we wanted to make a difference.
I had been at university in Plymouth and although not a big city I wanted to return to a calmer life on the Island. (Isle of Wight)
Starting our business allowed us to work towards achieving this. The flexibility of running my own business allows me to fit in the things that I enjoy doing, when there are waves I surf, when the weather is good I go fishing, when the wind is good I go sailing.”

Was there a particular event or moment of revelation that prompted it?

“ Yes, getting sick on holiday in France from polluted sea water was the final inspiration and although we had been planning for a month motivated me to consider the business as a true opportunity.”

Why clothing and why green clothing in particular?

“ We had a friend who ran a clothing company.We felt that we knew the market due to being young ‘stylish’ (!) guys. We also felt that there was a lot to be done in the clothing market and after research found that there was an opportunity for a green brand. We wanted our ethos to be rich, deep and transparent (see our transparency page on the website). We also wanted to provide facts and lead an examined life as a brand – we felt that there were a lot of people paying lip service to the green factor – so called ‘greenwash.’"

In what ways are your contributions (at work and in your personal life) to the "green/sustainable living movement" authentic for you?

"Our clothing itself has certifications that can’t be argued with but on a more personal note – we behave in a sustainable way; all the usual stuff – switching lights off, using energy saving bulbs, we turn off at the wall, use bikes as much as possible and bio-diesel in the van, we’ve got a ‘peely’ bin for organic waste which goes in the garden. Recently I’ve dug up part of our garden to create our sustainable veg patch. We’ve recently done some bespoke work with an organic gardener (CAR gardens) and he put me onto some organic seed suppliers – hopefully if all goes well we’ll have our own onions, potatoes, peas and carrots – we’ll have to wait on my gardening skills! Being green can be difficult, but we have some top tips on the site which we abide by."


How do you see yourself living and working in 20 years' time?

"I hope to have grown Rapanui to be successful, to be involved with the green movement – hopefully we won’t need one by then as it will be ‘normal’ rather than ‘green’! I hope to live somewhere where I can enjoy the pace and quality of life that I have now with friends and family close – whether that is on the IOW or in NZ or Hawaii or wherever, these aspects are most important to me. I don’t understand why someone would chose to live on the outskirts of London and travel to the city everyday to work from 9-5 in an office – some people say ‘green’ people are ‘eco-nuts’ ; I think 9-5 city life is nuts."

Rapanui Clothing can be found at www.rapanuiclothing.com

3. Your exploration this month.

 

How will you know when you’ve de-stressed your thinking?

What will that feel like?

In what ways will your life be different? How will it look?

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4. Quotes of the month.

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
Steven Biko

" We focus on the negatives, losing ourselves in the ‘problem.’ We point to our unhappy circumstances to rationalize our negative feelings. This is the easy way out. It takes, after all, very little effort to feel victimized."
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

" What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it."
Jiddu Krishnamurti

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5. Want to comment or contribute?

If you would like to comment on any aspect of this newsletter or submit an article for inclusion in it, please contact me by email.

6. Teleclasses and personal coaching.

"6 Steps to a Sustainable Small Business"

A series of 6 teleclasses, each 45 minutes long, exploring the three main elements of the Triple Bottom Line of Sustainable Business Practices, People, Planet, Profit and how to incorporate them into your business.

More details.

"How to Step off the Treadmill"

A series of six teleclasses, each 45 minutes long, exploring the elements of downshifting, the reality of living a sustainable lifestyle in a consumer driven society and how to motivate ourselves to make the switch.

More details.

What is a Teleclass?

A teleclass is a straightforward, low cost and sustainable way of taking part in a group learning session. It's like a conference telephone call.Each participant is supplied with a phone number to call at the appointed time. When you call, you will be welcomed to a virtual classroom where you can listen to the class leader present the teleclass material and you can participate by asking or answering questions if you wish. So it's just like being in a real classroom or workshop setting except that you can take part in the comfort of your own home without having to travel anywhere!

More details

Personal Coaching

One-to-one coaching can help you:

• let go of your old,stressful way of life, find a new path of vitality and an improved way of living.
• deal with fears surrounding financial responsibilities, your relationships with others and other consequences of making a major life change.
• improve your health, wellbeing and spiritual life.
• further your personal growth.
• achieve balance, clarity and peace.
  
  You can view further details on personal coaching here.

7. Privacy policy

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Have a fruitful month!

Sally

Sally Lever
Sustainable Living Coach

+44 (0)1749 674842
sally@sallylever.co.uk
http://www.sallylever.co.uk/

7 Welsford Avenue, Wells, Somerset. BA5 2HX. UK.