7/1/2025 0 Comments Difficult decisions...It’s now been over 5 years since I decided to stop flying. It remains one of the most difficult decisions I have taken.
It happened in November 2019 following my second major “rebellion” with Extinction Rebellion (XR). As a business professional who had been consulting with some of the best known names across the world for the previous 30 years, I was a newly born activist. My work with XR as a coach, facilitator and dialogue specialist involved me with a wide range of people with expert knowledge about the climate and ecological changes that had started or were pending - and are now in full swing. I LOVED flying and most importantly, needed to fly to run the international projects that brought food on my table. However, the more I learnt, and the more obvious it became that I couldn’t continue to act as if I didn’t know the visible and invisible harm my work and lifestyle choices had been causing. Within weeks of taking the decision, a luxury brand for which I had run a pack design project in New York a couple of years earlier asked me to run a similar project again. My heart sank when I received their e-mail. This was clearly a test of my resolve. Would I honour my need to be true to myself ? – I no longer wanted to be part of causing deliberate harm. Would I have the integrity to stick to my decision? I emailed my client back and told them that I had stopped flying for environmental reasons and that I might consider it again only if the project would help protect and repair the planet. “Unlikely” was their swift and brief response. I laughed when I received it. At least we were all being honest… From then on, it became easier to turn away what I then regarded as “unethical” business each time it landed in my inbox. These are difficult decisions. I have made many over a period of 15 years. And I have learnt that what matters is to simply make a start with the first one. What is the decision you need to embrace to start your journey towards alignment and integrity in your work and life?
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorCaroline Pakel - Individual Mirror Coaching facilitating understanding and change ArchivesCategoriesAll Anxiety Authenticity Coaching Conflict Confusion Courage Decision Making Fear Life Coaching Limited Beliefs Mirroring Openness Pain Self Esteem Truth |
Proudly powered by Weebly