Progress Over Perfection: Just Start

For the longest time, I’ve considered myself an environmentalist. Years ago, reading news like the great barrier reef dying or massive droughts in Brazil depressed the hell out of me. I felt helpless. These massive problems dragged me down. What could I do?

It wasn’t until I went vegan (and freegan) that I turned the page. I stopped getting depressed about these issues as I started to focus my efforts on what I could do. I concentrated on things I could do each day to make a positive impact.

I started making progress the best I could every day. I learned about the destructive nature of palm oil and gave it up. I started eating organic. Bit by bit I got better.

Throughout this time, others have noticed and joined.

Four years ago when I first became vegan, my Uncle and I were the only vegans that I knew. Now, ten friends and family members have become vegan or very close to it (I’m probably missing a few because so many have shifted to even partially more plant-based). Four years ago, I barely knew what veganism was. Since, I’ve read tons of books and have written a website to helps (and discovered that I love writing along the way).

Progress is being made en masse!

Start Small - Boy looking at steps — Start Small. Credit Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash

Sometimes it seems like overcoming world challenges is an impossible task. It’s easy to feel like your contributions would be insignificant on the scale of the problems. We’ve all been there.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tzu

As (dairy-free) cheesy as this quote is, it exists for good reason. Starting is the first step to solving any problem. Perhaps you are thinking about becoming a full-blown freegan. If you start by setting a goal of going a year without buying groceries, you may easily get discouraged. Start with something more reasonable like one month, or even one week.

We only live one day at a time. We only have control over the task in front of us right now. In that light, you can break it down further. Try a goal like “Today I want to go dumpster diving for 30 minutes,” or “I am going to dumpster dive at 3 groceries stores,” and work your way up.

The same thing applies to veganism. Maybe you start by making one vegan meal every day for a week. Maybe you do a two week trial period. After every meal, celebrate your success. I’ve always found positive reinforcement works best.

It all begins with starting. I think of it as climbing a mountain. First, I’ll hike to the clearing in the distance. Then, I’ll hike to the bridge just past that. Afterwards, I’ll tackle the next slope. Before you know it, I’m a quarter of the way up the mountain. Just get in motion. As you go, you will figure out a better way to do the next portion.

Start small and get going. And don’t think the contributions you make are insignificant, because little things go a long way:

“One day a man was walking down the beach. He came by a little girl going back and forth between the surf’s edge and the beach. There were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the tide. The man was struck by the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he came up to the young girl he said, “You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The girl looked at him. She then stooped down and picked up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. She turned back and said, “It made a difference to this one!”