As the young American
poet Rudy Francisco said one day: “You are still alive, act like
it!”. Do we really act like it? I didn't, even if I thought so.
What he meant is that most of us just follow our daily routine; we
are kind of bored or stressed-out or even depressed a lot of the
time. But I wasn’t a bad person: I was dutiful, hardworking and
even honest but I could do more. More for me, more for the others and
more for my planet, and have fun too! But that change I made, those
good habits I took, is it as futile as you can think? I thought so
but I was wrong and you may wonder “What's a bad habit after all,
where am I wrong?” and it’s a good beginning because those bad
habits are sometimes, and even always, well hidden.
For example, my bad
habits included:
> to start with the
thought my bad habits were just details;
> to believe that
sport was the only key to a good lifestyle;
> to believe that
every health problem could be solved with medication;
> to underrate the
power of a good diet, not the one sold by the “greatest” doctor
but the most simple one: eating less processed food;
> to believe that one
“perfect” girl on social media who told me: “This tea infusion
of hundreds of euros is the only way to feel good about yourself”.
And then, my good habits
now are:
> before all things,
to unfollow that one “perfect” girl on social media:
> to educate myself
and to be critical about what is said on TV, on the Internet, in
books even if it seems to be trustful;
> to make sensible and
reachable choices;
> to take my time;
> to stop being
profitable for society: no more dreadful fast food meals, no more
abuse of fast-fashion clothes, no more trust in ads and no more abuse
of mind-numbing entertainment.
> and yes, sometimes I
hang out with my friends and goods habits are impossible to keep but
it is okay because being “perfect” is impossible.
How have I been able to
adopt these “good habits”? I realized that only very few people
actually cared about me! All the others were trying to sell me
something or trying to make me do something that was in their own
interest, not mine. They made me feel tired/ugly/too
pale/stupid/lazy/impulsive/fat/unhealthy/too different/whatever just
to sell their thing without any regard for me. I finally understood
that I would never put my life into others’ hands anymore. I refuse
to feel bad about myself because the others need to control me or to
feel superior to me. Is it your case? Do you want the others to tell
you what to buy, what to eat, what to think, what to trust in, what
to do ?
Here is some advice if
you want to get rid of your bad habits:
> start with a
positive state of mind, difficult I know, but being critical and
negative all the time is actually just a bad habit: like a vote can
change everything in competition, your lifestyle can have an impact
on more fields than you can think;
> do not believe in
that doctor who sells you a brandnew and efficient diet, in that aunt
who contradicts you at all cost because she saw conspiracies in that
suspicious magazine, in that friend of a friend who wants you to
taste those gluten-free, cruelty-free and meat-free seeds (which
actually are interest-free and taste-free);
> believe in yourself:
follow your own rules, trust in yourself;
> if you don’t want
to do sport, alright have a flawless diet;
> if you can’t live
without chocolate, alright eat it in moderation like a reward for all
the good habits you are adopting;
> if it’s hard for
you to move, alright have the laziest Sunday ever when all the days
before were productive.
I think you are beginning
to understand, and now, you are asking yourselves: “What does
Yasmine's healthier, happier, more energetic lifestyle have to do
with saving the planet ?!”
The answer is :
“revolution”! If you want to change the world, start off by
changing yourself or as Ghandi said: “Be the change you want to see
in the world!”. What I mean is that our bad habits are due less to
our personal failings, but rather more to the society in which we
live in: we are stressed out by having to be competitive,
individualistic, materialistic. “Success” means having to work to
exhaustion, and this makes us unhappy. And being miserable makes us
eat too much crap, sleep badly, and become aggressive in our dealings
with the others...
If we can change our
habits, maybe the society can then become fairer, kinder, slower?
That would be a revolution, don't you think? If more and more of us
can become happier people by adopting “good habits”, then we will
make wiser choices concerning our lives. If we make wiser choices,
then all the crazy things we think are important (fast cars,
high-powered jobs, lots of Instagram “friends”, etc.) will be
seen as damaging. If we reject the social norms, not through a
violent revolution but through a revolution of personal emancipation,
then the bad habits that are destroying each of us and the planet
too, can be turned into good habits that will save us each and
everyone.
In more concrete terms,
here is my action plan. Let’s listen to and be more concerned with
actions already led that are silenced. For example, have you ever
heard about “L’actu Animé”, a French cartoonist who makes
animations and comics about how to start a kitchen-garden, how to
overcome stereotypes, how to read when you hate it, how to be
optimistic and who tries to create a supportive and concerned
community on social media? Have you ever heard about A.I.M, a French
girl on YouTube who talks about self-esteem, ecology, waste and a
more nature-friendly way of living? Have you ever heard about
orthomolecular medicine which proposes to heal people with substances
naturally known to the organism? If you haven’t, it’s totally
normal. Those will never be on the frontpage of a newspaper or the
main topic of a TV news report. But it’s time to give them a
microphone. If nobody wants to make them famous, let’s do it! Share
what you find interesting, let’s be open-minded, let’s be
curious! Also, let’s take the floor, trust me, if I can do it, you
can do it! The more numerous we will be, the more room there will be
for such an important topic. You can write articles, create your own
blog, speak to your relatives, create a hashtag, start a petition or
whatever... I trust you to be creative!
If we act together by not
being submissive anymore, we will be noticed sooner or later. I hope
you will join the “wellbeing revolution” at our side; it sounds
quite good!
Excellent point and good thinking! The power of behavioural habits is so strong! And I agree with you, starting to change them is the first step towards global change.
ReplyDeletePierre N writes:
ReplyDeleteHello Yasmine!
Your enthusiasm brings us much joy! You mention the fact that some people do not consider you important; but is thatt so really important? Critical thinking is essential, and we are too often lulled into complacency in many ways, including by those you mention. But we must not forget to also trust those we love and respect (which doesn't mean that they do not manipulate us too sometimes!). And I know it's oversimplifying your talk to say this, but, quite simply, without others, we cannot live. I believe that we should seek to cooperate with those around us rather than trying to be a "ship's bow" in an ocean of selfishness...
Hello Pierre ! Thanks for your reply !
DeleteYou are right, the fact some people do not consider me is not very important. But, very often, some of them are trying to act like they do just to sell their things and that's why it become important ; it is essential that those who pretend to help us to feel better actually consider us and it is not the case even if it is the basis. Thus, it is our job to be aware that they don't actually care about us and to educate ourselves in order to not fall into their trap.
I totally agree with you : without others we can not live ! This is why I mentioned people like "L'actu Animé" who try to create a community of people with the same goals and who are constantly supporting each others in their adoption of good habits. You can see an example here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/retoursurterreactuanimee/
Concerning family and even close friends, they can support us but it is possible they don't have same goals (totally normal of course). Despite this fact, we have to stay open-minded because they can give us useful advices or not, for us to choose if we take it or leave it. Sharing is important. Here the importance of being critical and educating ourselves. :)
Anaïs Gauthier writes: To save the planet, we, as young Europeans, can change our habits even if it is difficult, as Yasmine says. She does not want someone else to decide how she should live and she never wants to put her life in someone else's hands, but we should all make an effort. She says we can do more for ourselves, more for others and more for the planet, which is a very positive phrase. We have to make people aware of this problem through social media, television or books. She also talks about not eating too much fast food or buying so many fast-fashion clothes. She says that, sometimes, she fails to stick to her good habits when she's with her friends because “being perfect is impossible!". In short, to help the planet get better, first of all we must try to stay positive, believe in ourselves, and respect the rules we have given ourselves without trying to be a hero. Yasmine is very positive, she has good ideas. Everything she says is quite relevant. The examples she uses correspond to today's mentalities. The fact that she is so positive and enthusiastic makes me want to listen to what she has to say!
ReplyDeleteMali CHARGROS responds to Anaïs Gauthier’s comment on Yasmine Moujahid’s talk: Hello Anaïs, I read your comment and I think it’s really relevant to Yasmine's speech. I didn’t really know why I was so interested in what Yasmine said; I was like captivated by her words, and thanks to your comment I understood it’s simply because of how positive and enthusiastic she is! Her subject is relavant to me since I’ve been working on changing my habits. Also you made us understand, as much as Yasmine's speech, that we mustn’t be “perfect” but that we just have to make an effort and to be positive, to enjoy ourselves, to be happy and respectful of others; it's not by being negative that we are going to make the world worth living in!
DeleteJade BUISSONNIERE writes: Yasmine's talk is about good and bad habits. She talks about her own life experience. She starts with a quote by a young American poet: “You are still alive, act like it!”. She explain what it means: some people live their lives like a routine, with daily habits. However, we should live day to day, have fun moments, and live life to the fullest! Then, she explains that bad habits shouldn’t define who we are. Even if we have bad habits, we aren’t a bad person. Bad habits shouldn’t define our personality. I agree with this way of thinking because it does not undermine our self-confidence: if you believe in yourself, you can find your bad habits and change them, without having to “change” your personality. She gives examples of her former bad habits, and present good habits. For instance, before, she thought that what people thought of her was really important, but she learns that the “perfect girl” doesn’t exist; you should believe in yourself! Yasmine explains how she is succeeding in changing her bad habits and ways of thinking and gives tips and advice. She says that we should take charge of our lives, and stop entrusting our lives to others. We shouldn’t care about how others judge us, and learn to see the good side of things. And if you change how you think, it can maybe change society, and stop the critics. I think she has a good point of view, because if people don’t care about the critics, others will have no reasons to continue to criticise others, so society can become more just and good. So, she raises some questions: Why is society so cruel? Why do people laugh at others? Should we really worry about other people's opinions or should we just live our life like we want to? Finally, to conclude, she says that together we are more powerful. If all people adopt this way of life, society can be better and social expectations will be better. So we must work together to achieve this purpose. Together, we can change everything!
ReplyDeleteHello, I’m Mali Chargros and I was one of the delegates at the EDYF too. I listened to your speech, Yasmine, and I really, really loved it! I find impressive how you managed to say that real good habits can be the key to saving our planet. That, with happier, healthier and more invested people, society can change; I’ve never thought of it that way! Moreover, we can see that you take it to heart; what you say is important. Thanks for sharing the information on the relatively unknown YouTubers who have excellent ideas about how to adopt good life habits and to have greater self-esteem. It actually made me feel a little better about myself and I thank you for that, because I’m the kind of person who doesn’t have any social media and who feels a little different from others! So, thank you for your wonderful speech and I hope you’ll become the leader of this “revolution” that could help save our planet!
ReplyDeleteThéo SABATIER writes: Yasmine's talk highlights the fact what we must change our habits. She gives several really interesting examples about her former bad habits and her present good ones, and gives advice to help us change our own. The really cool thing is that she talks about her own life experience. Moreover, she talks about our freedom, our place in society, and about how bad habits should not define our character, and I totally agree with her. We have to change ourselves in order to save the planet, because we are the problem. If a lot of people change and act well, we can change everything. The enthusiasm of Yasmine make us want to join her; she offers us a great life lesson!
ReplyDeleteMaximilien BIDET writes: I learnt a lot of things from your speech, Yasmine. You have an original way of looking at the problem of how to save the world; it is perhaps the start of a revolution and everyone should indeed adopt good habits! But there is something I don't understand: you say you want to make society slower. Certainly, a slower society could make people happier, but could all the goods that are useful for life be produced by a slower society? A “fast” society is synonymous with progress, including medical progress. You say conventional medicine has not been able to cure all illnesses, so is it a good idea to slow society and medical research down?
ReplyDeleteCharlotte, Gabriel and Jonathan write: This talk makes us more aware of certain aspects of our way of life. We think that this idea of trying to change one's habits is a good one...
ReplyDeleteSelf-confidence is a very complicated thing to acquire and yet extremely easy to lose. Nowadays, life is punctuated by idealized photos of influencers in which bodies of beauty idealized by our current society (in adverts and films, on social networks, etc.) do not reflect the reality of bodies. To be accepted in the current formatted world, you must be in a standard mannequin type (slender, muscular, with hair, etc.) so as not to reveal any defects in disagreement with the standards. On networks, this ideal is only in reality a staging (light, retouching, poses, filters). The ideal of perfect weight is just a lie, a figure that tells nothing about our body or our health, a figure that deceives us and that serves only as a "clue". This self-confidence can be expressed through the physical, but also through the fear of failure. As soon as we enter school, having poor marks or shortcomings is a sign of “failure” for the education system, which sometimes does not take into account the mental health of students. And even after high school, in the “Grandes Ecoles”, there is competition to be the “King of the jungle”, a constant quest to be the best. This reflects the current world of work where success consists in being as high up as possible in society.
Yasmine tells us about fast food that she describes as appalling, and in a way she is not totally wrong because fast food is very poor quality and uses excessive amounts of plastic. We agree on this point because it pollutes our planet enormously. And we think she's right to say we must stop fast food altogether, even if it’s a radical idea, because the problem is not with fast food but with consumer demand. This is why this expenditure must remain exceptional and not normal in order to perceive the latter as a reward for the efforts made over time and thus limit the waste caused by these restaurants.