Gotta Have Faith

Since we first climbed down from the trees, humans have, in one form or another, believed in something. The wonder of the stars, the influence of the moon, the daily certainty of the sun’s passage across the sky. Strange phenomena were explained by the existence of multitudes of gods, which over time, and depending on our locale, were displaced by the idea of a single Entity. Then came industry and mechanisation, technology and modernisation, and our collective need to depend on a higher power began to dwindle and turn to more tangible understandings: our societies, our economies, and our communities. Now we’ve refined that even further, or rather we’ve lost faith in our societal leaders, and now mostly believe in ourselves. We rely to a great extent on our abilities to improve our lot, for us and for our loved ones. But what hasn’t changed over the millennia is how we believe: with a leap of faith.

Daily acts of faith

Everything we do in life has a two-fold directive: to survive and to thrive. The second can’t happen without accomplishing the first. Yet it’s the second that consumes us. Yes, we have to survive, but we MUST have that new thing in order to make our existences more bearable. This has become our mantra, our new dogma, and we make whatever sacrifices we need to achieve our ends. We take leaps of faith, and we do it almost daily. Going on a beach holiday, or to a wedding, and want to look our best for those inevitable photos? Easy. Just diet. Sure, it’s boring and horrible and we hate having to do it, but the outcome is always worth the sacrifice. We know, because we’ve done it before and it works.

Want to get fit? Join a gym. It’s right there, just around the corner, open all hours and filled with machines that make us feel inadequate and helpless, but we keep paying our membership because we have an end goal: to look and feel better. Tired of your job and want a promotion? Go back to uni or invest in a course that will give you the required accreditation. All it takes is time and money, but it’ll be worth it long term, right? Studying for exams after a term of partying? Just swot.

Because it's worth it

These are simple (and simplified) examples of how we meet our short-term goals. Of course, not everyone succeeds; some drop off the treadmill because it’s too damn hard; we’d rather be at the pub, and those instant results we hoped for just aren’t manifesting. Swotting for exams is tedious and always fraught with regrets that we’ve left it to the last minute. But those who keep at it and work and study and sweat and starve will achieve their desired results. And they’ll keep persisting for one very simple reason: because, according to science, physical and mental exercise releases endorphins, those happy hormones we all have which are there to heighten our sense of accomplishment and help us through the bad times. It’s the same science that’s telling us the world has reached its tipping point and climate catastrophe is just around the corner. So why do we put so much effort into improving ourselves in the here and now, but brush off any idea of working towards improving a future we’re not likely to be a part of?

So what's different about our climate behaviours?

First, we’re wired to not think about a future that doesn’t directly involve us and making efforts now for something so distant isn’t attractive. This stems in part from a deeply buried ancestral survival instinct to be in the present, and (in no small way thanks to social media et al) we’ve become slaves to our ids and our egos. Second, we’ve been taught to imagine that anything existential and intangible is beyond our control to change; we’re not the problem, we’re the victims here. Nothing I do will make a scrap of difference. Go preach to the fossil fuel companies and the lobbyists! And, finally, perhaps the hardest barrier to overcome: if we do make an effort, what is our reward? Will turning off the heater/air-conditioner help me fit into that bikini, or give me the abs I’ve always wanted, or the promotion or grades I think I deserve? No? Yawn.

Be the future your loved ones need

But here’s the thing: when we diet without exercising, any weight loss will be short-lived. If we exercise just our upper bodies, or start jogging to get fit, but still pack away those carbs, the abs won’t appear. And any further or intensive studies we undertake won’t always equate to the job or grades we really want. And when that happens we get despondent and lose faith. We  lose our will to continue or, worse, try again. What’s needed for success is belief, persistence, a change of attitude, and a change of lifestyle. If we believe we can do it, we’ll do it. Humans are remarkable like that.

Together, we've got this

Extrapolating those simple analogies further, just as we have to work our brains, exercise our willpower, or strain every muscle in our bodies to make headway, so we as individuals have to work together to make the intangible possible. We take leaps of faith every day without certainty of outcome. The same rules apply when it comes to battling climate change. Winners are those who persist in their goals and push past the pain barrier to release those endorphins and experience a wash of happiness and achievement. We can all be winners. We can all make the small sacrifices necessary to live more sustainably and ensure a better climate future for ourselves and for our loved ones. Walk or cycle instead of driving. Buy local, and locally produced goods. Fly less often. Boycott the big polluters. Use your vote for change. Sign a petition. It’s not as hard as it seems, and the finish line might seem a distant mirage, but every little thing we do now makes a difference.

Because if not us, then who? And if not now, then when?

Taking a leap of faith is scary. Maintaining that belief often seems pointless when we feel we’re alone in our fight. Explaining our actions to others isn’t easy in the face of derision. Until we remember that, in fact, we’re not alone. There are millions of others out there quietly doing their bit to help the environment and improve our climate future. So don’t stop. Keep going, keep talking, keep on sharing so that others can take the same leap. Because when we all push through that barrier together, we’ll experience that same sense of achievement that every winner feels. And it’ll be doubly sweet knowing that our efforts aren’t just for us, but for future generations.

Anything’s doable if we’re willing to believe. Together, we’ve got this