Unless you have been born and raised vegan, chances are that you realized more about animal exploitation when you were older. This means that you have already tasted and enjoyed animal products, but you’ve been most probably shocked by what you have read, listened to, or watched about animal suffering, abuse, and exploitation.
You have, thus, been informed and then, you took the decision to stay committed to the vegan lifestyle because your why (to save sentient beings’ life) is so precious that it surpasses everything else. So, your taste, habits, family/friends’ comments, or anything else become secondary.
You took this decision from a place of love, care, and justice for someone else who cannot defend themselves.
And this means that your decision has nothing to do with fear, diets, restrictions, or deprivation, which are the causes behind the decision to go plant-based for the health, the environment, etc.
There is no “next Monday” or “cheat days” when it comes to saving someone’s life. You know that there is not a second to lose and that you want to help them as much as humanly possible.
And this is exactly what makes going vegan the best and easiest way to save animals and as a bonus, the planet, and your health (if you aren’t a junkie vegan 😉) as well.
From my own personal experience, if somebody would have asked me to go vegan 10 years ago, I’d have felt uneasy because I’m quite an impulsive, and undisciplined person.
In my mind, this was a diet and not a mission-driven lifestyle. But, as we have seen, this cannot be further from the truth.
When I became a vegan, I couldn’t even think to cheat or consume in small quantities animals because I knew that any action, small or big, contributes to either saving animals or continuing their suffering.
That’s why I have also created my framework to better help you.
Let’s have a look at
1. your (present) why (which by the way can change at any moment): what is the reason behind your decisions right now?
Don’t forget that you can start with the health part (you want to go plant-based for your health) and then, you realize that you want to become a vegan.
So basically, you don’t need to become a vegan right away, but you still need to know why exactly you don’t want to eat animals.
2. any knowledge you have around the topics of veganism and plant-based diet (from what to eat to why to become, eventually, a vegan): are you well-informed about the vegan lifestyle or the plant-based diet?
3. your level of commitment: after having been properly informed, are you committed to taking action and doing what is needed to make it sustainable?
These three elements are interconnected and can either help you make progress or become an obstacle on your personal path to become a confident vegan.
Let me know in the comments below if you resonate with that framework and which element creates the more tension or questions for you right now. Ask me any questions you may have, so I can better help you.