Obstacles to sustainable action

Activity title

Obstacles to sustainable action

Objectives

• To reflect upon one´s personal obstacles for living sustainable
• To realize where sustainability is systemically disabled and cannot be reached through individual (consumption-based) choices

Time

20 minutes

Instructions 

1. Reflect upon what it is that hinders you from acting in a sustainable way. Thereby distinguish between inner or internal and outer or external obstacles.
2. In the graphic note down the inner obstacles (within the person) and the outer obstacles (around the person). 

Debriefing and evaluation

Many of the obstacles stem from factors outside of ourselves and our control. Even if we want to act sustainably, it is very difficult to do so in many fields and impossible in other regards. If systemic factors disable us from sustainability, individual consumption choices cannot change that system. E.g. If you live in the countryside without public transportation you cannot choose a sustainable mode of transport as an individual. Sustainable and feasible infrastructure solutions would be needed. We need to establish and strengthen sustainable modes of provisioning human needs.