Short Thoughts
What is the use of hope? Perhaps if we are hopeless, that could lead to inaction—why should we try, if we can't fix things? Belief in our ability to make a difference might light a fire that gets us to take action. And we can make a
Short Thoughts
There's a common problem that we face in many different areas of life: when do we branch out and explore more options, versus when do we make a choice and commit to something for a period of time? Any time we need to make a decision, we face
Short Thoughts
Most things are more complex than they seem at first. Take, for example, the impacts of alternative protein availability. At first, we might think that the only impact alt proteins have is to directly reduce the consumption of animal products: classic supply and demand. If someone eats a Beyond Burger
Short Thoughts
Who do you consider "the other side"? In other words: your enemies, your opponents, your competition. This could be politically, or it could be in animal advocacy, or whatever. Pick whichever group comes to mind first. Who's not on "your team"? Now, ask yourself:
Short Thoughts
When it comes to effectiveness, there are two important strategies that sometimes seem at odds: perseverance, and pivoting. First, perseverance. Good things take time to build—and important progress takes a long time to create. Beyond Meat was founded in 2009, but didn't release any products until 2012.
Short Thoughts
It's strangely difficult to know if things are going well or not without some kind of review process. Our assessment of the entire year can be strongly affected by how the last couple of days or weeks have been, and it's hard to spot larger trends
Short Thoughts
What is the purpose of special days and months focused on particular topics? Why have Veganuary, or No Meat May, or World Day for Farmed Animals (October 2nd), or Fast Against Slaughter (the 2nd of each month)? One reason is that is provides an opportunity for many individuals and organizations
Short Thoughts
Faced with too many choices, our minds can shut down and seek the easiest path forward—usually, the default path. (Often, that path is inaction.) This can be our situation when it comes to advocating for animals, if we think we should try to "do it all". If
Short Thoughts
Much of our modern world is focused on the digital, intellectual, and informational, but we are fundamentally physical beings with physical bodies. This fact has a lot of implications, but let's talk about two of the big ones. First, when it comes to self-care and your health—are
Short Thoughts
When we look at the immense suffering of animals caused by factory farming, it's hard to not be traumatized, angry, and depressed. I remember years ago, at one of my first animal rights conferences, talking with someone at the Animal Legal Defense Fund booth about this. How do
Short Thoughts
It's interesting to analyze how you make decisions in your life. Not only the what, but the why and the how. What job are you currently in? Why are you in that job? How did you make the decision to get that job and not another? What do
Short Thoughts
Sometimes, you might be tempted to try keeping up with "it all". All of the news; all of the animal advocacy events; all of the causes; all of the progress happening around the world. But the truth is that it's fundamentally impossible to keep up with