I fell in love with this cool dude, really I could not imagine being head over heels with him; did he thrill me? Did he force me to fall in love with him? Did he require that I read, enquire, and be inquisitive? Well, he never forced me; he never tried to impress or thrill me. All he required of me was my attentiveness and ability to learn, relearn, and unlearn.

My journey into falling in love started when I applied to be a Unilever campus ambassador in 2014; to be successful with my interview for this position it demands I know all that Unilever is: What the organisation stands for and what it intends to achieve in the present and in the future. The name of this precious love of mine is the word “sustainability.” Oh, yea! This word means a lot to my existence and the impact I desire to make in my society and the world at large.

I began to research the Unilever company and what stood out were the words “sustainable development.” This organisation provides products that will span a lifetime and generations: products that target the consumers leading a healthy life and the preservation of the earth greatest gift, nature. This organisation lives the life called GREEN – ever flourishing and blossoming.

And so, ever since 2014, I made up my mind to know and to better understand the word “sustainability.” The Cambridge dictionary defines it as “the ability to continue at a particular level for a period of time.” This word is used in the business and economic spheres; this is the reason why you would find it in relation to development as sustainable development. Another reason why you would find the United Nations (UN) say SDGs or Sustainable Development Goals. An online business dictionary in its definition of sustainable development notes that Brundtland report defines it as “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Inasmuch as the word sustainability is a relevant word in the economic and business spheres, it should also be relevant to you, your growth, and the impact you desire to make in your immediate society.

Sustainability is about living a life that sees transformation, growth, and longevity. It also helps you to consider the pros and cons of decisions and actions before accepting them or going further with them. If decisions or actions are followed wrongly they could affect your career, business, your siblings’ life and even the relationships that you keep. In addition, thinking sustainability makes you think of productivity before you think of self-profit or self-interest. Essentially, it about the future; what are your projection of what tomorrow should be?

With the word, sustainability, evolving is a great tool. An example is the case of Goldman Sachs: after the stock market crashed in 1929 the business went into financial crisis but the correction to this crisis came from the organisation’s appointment of a new manager in the person of Sidney Weinberg who changed the face of the business venture from trading to investment banking; today Goldman Sachs is one of the leading global investment banking business. Of a truth, for growth and development to take place there are times you need to evolve as an individual either by taking advice from people, by the virtue of deep introspection, or by the virtue of social change. This is an aspect of you being open. Openness is learning and it makes it possible for you to see the changes around you and how your education, career, spiritual life, and finance can benefit from it.

Evidently, thinking sustainability allows you to build a structure. You will always want to lay the right foundation that can help the next four generations after you.

My two cents to you is that: if need be, think of my love: think sustainability!

Photo Credit: fisayowrites