Mindfulness, Values, and Behavior Change
As AZENTIVE embarks on a quest to share Authentic Sun, a full spectrum plasma lighting technology, with North American customers, we are very mindful of our core values. We want to build relationships with partners and customers, and together nurture plants, people, and profits in ways that ultimately benefit the planet.
Being mindful allows us to observe situations from a distance. This spaciousness allows us to detach, make decisions and set healthy boundaries based on values.
For example, as a graduate student studying the behaviors that negatively impact climate change, I came across some (now famous) United Nations research on the impacts of food on our climate. In particular, I discovered that animal agriculture, especially meat and dairy products, contribute more to climate change globally than anything else. Around the same time, after one conversation about the impacts of the dairy industry on calves (they are separated from their mothers but kept just close enough to keep the cow producing milk – torture, anyone?), I went vegan.
Two important core values were activated for me:
- I am on a personal and professional mission to reduce and reverse climate change
- I support animal freedom and wellness in every way I can
Recently, I came across another powerful example of how values can change behavior. Harvard psychologist Susan David demonstrates how values can change our behavior instantly. She explains that while we once might have succumbed to chocolate cake in the past; linking that unhealthy eating behavior to the orphaning of our children can immediately steer us in the direction of better dietary choices. Watch the six-minute video – it’s powerful!
These three examples of how values drive behavior bridge personal and professional choices, illustrating the importance of mindfully using our core values as an internal compass that guides our outer actions in the world.
On a less serious, and more delicious note, any chocolate cake I eat is climate and animal friendly. Share your stories about how a core value led to a change in your habits, chocolate cake and beyond!
Core values can motivate us to resist eating that chocolate cake for health reasons. I have overcome this whole situation by making organic, vegan, gluten-free chocolate cake with no added sugar.
Thanks to Sundarajan for the video.