Noticing Your Influences

There are countless influences acting on us at all times.

There are social influences, like friends who invite us to dinner ("want to come?"), or family members who tell us about a new whatchamacallit that they saw online ("you should get one!").

There are corporate influences, like companies that advertise on social media ("buy!"), or the social media platforms themselves that try to capture your attention ("click!"), or fast food restaurants that station themselves in convenient places where you'll run into them ("hungry?").

There's the government too, which passes laws and makes announcements and sets various types of policies that affect our lives in different ways.

Then there's the media, of all sorts. And there are city planners who decide what types of things will be built where. And there are schools, and religious institutions.

All of these things, and lots of other influences we could talk about, are constantly pulling and pushing us (gently or firmly) in all kinds of different directions, trying to get us to take action according to what they find valuable.

What influences are currently present in your life, and which directions are they pulling you in? Do you usually go with the flow of these influences, or do you find yourself swimming against the current, pushing back?

How many of those influences are getting you to act in accordance with your values? How many of them are trying to get you to act against your values?

How many of those influences are pro-animal?

Noticing all of these influences is a good first step. Then, we can see what direction we want to go in, and if those influences are helping or hindering us.