What's your WHY 🤷♂️
What’s your WHY? Most people have already given up their New Years resolutions. Studies point to around January 12th as the date we throw in the towel. If going Vegan was on your list of things to accomplish in 2019 I have some thoughts.
When we came across a booked titled “How Not To Die” we were intrigued to say the least. Of course we’ll all die, but Dr. Greger tackles 15 major diseases (including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease) one by one, presenting a wealth of research to shore up his assertion that most of these ailments can be prevented by diet and lifestyle choices.
This is what got us in the door but I’m not sure we would have lasted if it was our WHY. We felt better than ever but our motivation - our WHY - was inward focused. Being lifelong “animal lovers”, who also happened to eat animals and their secretions, we lived a life of contradiction without even thinking about it. However, once we removed them from our diet it was like taking the red pill in the matrix. You can’t go back, un-know what you now know, and you realize cows, turkeys, and all animals are complex beings with worth who just want to live. When you look into their eyes you realize someone is home - just like with our cats and dogs. We had found our WHY.
The pinnacle of this epiphany happened when I stumbled upon this video of a female pig who was allowed outside for the first time after years of confinement. She had been rescued and taken to a farm animal sanctuary. As she jumped and ran with joy - just like our dogs - it was a lighting bolt, I immediately knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Our WHY was so strong we sold our dream house, cashed in savings, and are on our way to opening our own farm animal sanctuary - and we should have an update on that soon! So I guess going vegan is dangerous 😉
For us it was the animals, but if you have children, living longer and being healthier in old age could also be on outward focused WHY. As Penn Jillette says in this awesome short video “it turns out that being around for my kids is more important than chocolate cake”. Or, if you’re concerned about what we’re doing to this planet, going vegan is the single greatest thing someone can do to reduce their carbon footprint and that can become your WHY. Or, if you want to see less cruelty in the world that can be your WHY. The good news is, whatever your WHY is, going vegan will work for your health, the environment, and of course reduce the exploitation and suffering of animals.
Having personal motivations is great, but when your WHY is for others, those convictions become rock solid and unshakable. Sure, I want to be healthy, but if that was my only reason for being plant based it would be easy to justify veering off the path after a big workout, hard day at work, on a vacation, etc. But as someone who knows there was an unwilling victim in a hamburger, that took around 1,000 gallons of water (not to mention the methane) to produce, you couldn’t pay me to eat it. And if your outward WHY is to be healthier and vibrant for others, consider the cholesterol, plaque, hormones, antibiotics, carcinogens and the list goes on, will be enough to deter you.
So if you’ve fallen off the bandwagon no worries. Hop back on, find your WHY, and let’s do this. Sure, there will be some learning curves but there’s never been an easier time to go vegan. We’re here to help you and be a resource in anyway we can. Also check out https://veganuary.com with free starter kits, recipes, and a ton of helpful things. Going vegan is the best thing we’ve done on every level and know you can do it too!
