by Rik Hoevers

In this parallel session we will explore the importance of a conscious approach to cultivating practices in a personal and professional development process. Successful leaders and change-makers with late stage action-logic all have several practices they maintain, e.g. meditation, journaling, exercising and maintaining a personal productivity set of practices like Getting Things Done (GTD) and The Seven Habits.

As sustainability practitioners we are dedicated towards walking our talk. That could include caring for our inner sustainability. Often the (un)sustainable situation in the outside world is so compelling to us, we may feel there's no time to work on our inner sustainability. Once you truly see that your inner state is the key to your effectiveness in contributing to a more sustainable world, you might be interested in improving your ability and agility to cultivate practices.

The transformational character of practice can easily elude us because of the repetitive character of it. When acquiring knowledge repetition can be boring, but when acquiring skill repetition is essential. So it is important not to confuse the two.

The purpose of this session is to share experiences and lessons learned on the enhancing and blocking factors of creating and sustaining a practice. At the end of this session we choose one specific practice to apply these principles on. You'll be facilitated to formulate your practice(s) in a way that has most chances of taking off and sustaining it. We'll apply the 5 step process of identifying and cultivating a specific practice. The 7 principles of successful practice will be revealed and we will discuss further facts, experiences and resources about cultivating a practice of practice.