{"id":105920,"date":"2025-02-23T21:49:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T21:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/adventure\/proximity-to-power-alastair-humphreys\/"},"modified":"2025-02-23T21:49:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T21:49:28","slug":"proximity-to-power-alastair-humphreys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=105920","title":{"rendered":"Proximity to Power – Alastair Humphreys"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Today\u2019s Book Recommendations:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed by the state of the world and some of the clowns we\u2019ve got running the circus. An unpalatable cocktail of despair and helplessness doesn\u2019t taste good. Worse than that, it doesn\u2019t help anything either.<\/p>\n

It was timely, then, that I listened to an excellent\u00a0podcast episode<\/a>\u00a0about how to live a good life in the climate crisis. The title of the show \u2013\u00a0Outrage + Optimism<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0is brilliant, and I\u2019d like to steal it as the subtitle \/ guiding principle of this newsletter!<\/p>\n

Their conversation\u00a0reminded me to cling to a determined form of optimism, and that taking action feels really good<\/strong>. Don\u2019t expect perfection, but don\u2019t tolerate irresponsibility either.<\/p>\n

I was pleased they placed\u00a0\u2018purpose\u2019 at the core of living a good and fulfilling life<\/strong>, with an emphasis on being\u00a0committed to the process rather than the outcome<\/strong>. This is an important distinction to remember, in order to save yourself from the dreaded unpalatable cocktail of despair and helplessness when things don\u2019t get solved as quickly as you\u2019d like!<\/p>\n

I need\u00a0\u2018the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0Therefore I\u2019ve been reminding myself to focus on the climate and nature issues that overlap with my world\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0travel, adventure, the outdoors, nature \u2013 and think what I can do about them, both as an individual and in places where I have proximity to power.<\/p>\n

I can\u00a0take the jump<\/a>\u00a0and make \u2018six shifts to protect the earth and live with joy\u2019. But the most useful thing individuals can do is to\u00a0try to bring about change bigger than themselves<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u2018Proximity to power\u2019 is a grand phrase, but all it really means is recognising where we have access to bigger groups or influential people, and therefore might be able to leverage greater results than if we acted alone.<\/p>\n

Working out how the Proximity to Power\u00a0applies to you is the aim of today\u2019s newsletter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your first thought might well be, \u2018I don\u2019t know anyone! I have no power!\u2019<\/p>\n

But that is nonsense. Everyone reading this is in the top tier of the wealthiest, most educated, and best connected humans on earth. So let\u2019s try to think about how each of us can leverage a little bit more impact than just our own actions.<\/p>\n

Consider the tiny number of organizations and leaders responsible for the majority of\u00a0 the problems we face.\u00a0Just\u00a057 companies<\/a>\u00a0are linked to 80% of greenhouse emissions<\/strong>, for example. That\u2019s 57 CEOs whose next door neighbours could have a chat with them when they\u2019re putting the bins out in the morning and say,\u00a0\u2018seriously, mate, what sort of nonsense are you making of your life? Sort it out!\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Take a few minutes to think which individuals or groups you are connected to, and work out how to start a dialogue with them about issues you are both likely to care about.\u00a0What is your \u2018proximity to power\u2019?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n