Control Knobs for Resilience

One of the podcasts I listen to weekly is Nate Hagens' Great Simplification. In this week's editorial "Frankly", Nate talks about some of the difficult things that may be dialing up in our future, many of which are outside our control but which could impact our lives in profound ways.

I want to highlight 10 things Nate discusses which we can consciously adjust in our own daily lives. Doing so positions us to be resilient and lead meaningful, happy lives, whatever the increasingly uncertain future may hold. The things in this list are motivating factors for the what we are building into the next phase of Wild Type Ranch.

1. Move from isolation to interconnectedness. Build and become integrated into community. Become part of the local ecosystem and economy. We value our relationships with our customers, some of whom have been with us for 19 years. In our next phase, we are aiming for a multi-operator, multi-enterprise farm with more community involvement. I look forward to doing farmers markets again!

2. Move from valuing money to valuing "real capital". Things like skills, friends, family, environment, beauty and what we can create with our own hands and effort bring more reward than accumulating fiscal wealth. As far as physical assets, to me there is nothing more valuable than the land which provides food and livelihood.

3. Move from consumption to regeneration. Work toward material regeneration and a more circular lifestlye. This also means regenerating our social capital and investing in long-term relationships and social reciprocity. Regenerative food production and trying to build a circular economy on a local scale are a key component of our long-term business plan.

4. Move from a narrow view of the world to a wider view. Live with the awareness of our interconnectedness with all things and the humility of understanding we are only one tiny piece of the system. Take a systems view, embrace complexity and avoid black-and-white binary thinking. One of the things I love about the Regenerative Ag mindset is exactly this.

5. Move from stimulation and dopamine hits to peace and tranquility. Learn to find comfort in quiet and the sounds of nature. Add some intermittance in your sensual inputs (social media, food, technology, energy use). Meditate. Implement a tech Sabbath. Fast.

6. Move from technology to reality. Spend more time paying attention to nature and less time looking at screens. Interact IRL (that's In Real Life for those who may not speak gamer) more than through tech. There's nothing like interacting with the natural world to bring me back to reality.

7. Move from being critical to being in awe. As things change around us, it's so easy to focus on the changes we don't like and look for blame. Spend more time focusing on the incredible world you have around you. Practice gratitude every day. If you must be critical, fix the problem, not the blame. I think this is a key mindset for being a content and successful farmer.

8. Move from apathy to doing good. Resist the temptation to withdraw in the face of uncertainty or conflict. Respond instead by doing whatever you can, with whatever you have, wherever you, for as long as you're able. (paraphrased from Teddy Roosevelt). This is my biggest advice to my children and a motivating mantra for me.

9. Move from the shallow to the deep. "The next few decades will be the most important resolution of the human experiment and the human predicament ever" (N. Hagens). Roll up your sleeves and do what you can to improve our future through making our present more sustainable, regenerative, kind and connected. Care less about your material and social status. This is a key reason we're expanding Wild Type Ranch, rather than drifting quietly into retirement.

10. Move from optimizing power to optimizing life. Not only is focusing on doing what we can to support all life on this planet the best thing we can do for our future, it also builds a personal, internal base of strength, satisfaction and happiness. The foundational principal for Wild Type Ranch has been "Respect for All Life". That is more important and more true now than it ever has been.