Jeroen Janss is a facilitator, resilience coach, mindfulness trainer, and keynote speaker. He is Founder and Co-Director of the Inner Green Deal: a not-for-profit initiative cultivating sustainable and compassionate leadership for a greener and fairer society. Jeroen works with leaders in companies and international organizations such as the European Commission and European Parliament to facilitate systemic change. He and his colleagues develop training programs and tools that address the human dimensions of climate leadership and action that can be used by organizations and facilitators around the world to scale impact. He is passionate about his call to the community of facilitators, mindfulness teachers and coaches to use their skills and understanding of how humans function to facilitate a shift in mindset and a more compassionate way of living and working.
In this episode, Jeroen talks about why he launched the Inner Green Deal in response to the growing need to address the inner dimensions (the mindsets and behavior changes) that were not formally a part of the EU’s Green Deal initiatives which focused primarily on ‘external’ progress such as infrastructure and land-use planning, for example. He saw the need for facilitators, who understand how the mind works, to play important roles in initiatives that are working to solve the societal and environmental challenges of today and tomorrow.
Jeroen describes how, in today’s busy world, we are often distracted and stressed and, in this state of being, we become disconnected from our true selves, from others, and from nature. He explains that, under stress, we often exist in a state of fear and take on a view of the world that can best be described as ‘tunnel vision’; making it difficult to think clearly, to address new challenges, to listen with humility, to see emerging options, and to slow down and be present. In many cases, we have become cynical and have lost faith in our own ability to change and solve today’s challenges, both as human beings and as institutions. The result is that we shut down, act defensively, and fight to protect ourselves instead of the other way around. This state of mind and being, in and of itself, does not allow us to live the best version of ourselves.
Jeroen stresses that we, as living creatures, do indeed change and adapt all the time. By taking a hard look at our inner selves, through facilitated expeditions into our minds and our collective consciousness, the Inner Green Deal helps us find and develop spaces for compassion, vulnerability, collaboration, and psychological safety so that we can better understand ourselves and how we are all connected.
FOR MORE INFO ABOUT JEROEN, please visit: www.awaris.com/awaris-team/jeroen-janss; and to listen to the Inner Green Deal podcast, please visit: www.awaris.com/inner-green-deal-podcast
FOR MORE INFO ABOUT US: Please visit www.sustainabilitymindshift.com and follow us on social media #SustainabilityMindshift
