What does it mean to create, grow and spread SustaVariety? And, what are some possible goals towards that?

What does it mean to create, grow and spread sustainable variety (SustaVariety)? How do we know when we have? What are some possible goals towards creating, growing, and spreading SustaVariety? You’ll find answers to these questions below.

Meaning of, and Knowing About, SustaVariety

The term SustaVariety is a one-word prompt for, and description of, living well. But let’s unpack that.

Variety is an important part of life. But too much or too little can cause problems. The susta part of SustaVariety stands for sustainable, and reminds us we need a variety of variety, in ways that keep the variety going and sustain the benefits. So sustainable variety, or SustaVariety for short, is variety that continues, refreshes, renews.

Of course, assessing SustaVariety is going to be partly subjective. Partly, we’ll just know when we’re experiencing it and enjoying it.

Yet there are also likely ways to have some goals related to SustaVariety, and to at least partly assess our progress towards those goals.

Such assessments might be related to experiencing and enjoying SustaVariety, and also related to striving towards SustaVariety. We’ll also likely want to experience and enjoy SustaVariety while we’re striving towards it.

Also, something to consider is how SustaVariety and sustainable proximities relate. Generally, I think SustaVariety tends to create more sustainable proximities, and vice versa.

Below are some thoughts about how we might proceed with some of these assessments. These lists are of course not exhaustive, and will evolve.

Assessing Experiences of SustaVariety

Here are some questions we might ask:

  • Do you feel like you are experiencing SustaVariety?
  • How many people in a situation are experiencing SustaVariety?
  • On some scale (like 1 to 5, or something else), how much do people feel like they are experiencing SustaVariety?

Assessing Progress Towards SustaVariety

Here are some ways we might assess progress towards SustaVariety:

  • How are we progressing towards more SustaVariety generally?
  • To what extent are people striving towards (creating, growing, spreading) SustaVariety also experiencing and enjoying SustaVariety?
  • How much are people’s contributions and actions towards creating, growing, and spreading SustaVariety making a difference?

Assessing Progress Towards Sustainable Proximities

We can also assess progress towards sustainable proximities, and in the process, assess SustaVariety at the same time. Note that with the word sustainability, what I’m talking about here goes beyond just environmental sustainability. I’m using the term sustainability broadly, so here is a definition. Sustainable means that the complexity of growth and life can persist, adapt and change as needed. You might think of sustainable as often meaning lively. For a longer discussion about sustainability and how it relates to the proximity thinking framework, check this out. So, here are some related assessment questions:

  • How sustainable is the proximity of this situation?
  • To what extent is this sustainable proximity also generating SustaVariety?
  • Can we list, track, and assess multiple sustainable proximities with sustainable variety? Are we doing so?

Three Possible Goals

Based on the above, perhaps these might be three possible general goals as we seek to create, grow, and spread SustaVariety:

  1. For people and groups to experience and enjoy SustaVariety more often.
  2. For people and groups striving towards (creating, growing, spreading) SustaVariety to experience and enjoy SustaVariety as they strive.
  3. To increase the prevalence of sustainable proximities with sustainable variety, and to the extent possible list, track, and assess them, so we can improve and further create, grow, and spread SustaVariety and experience and enjoy more SustaVariety.

NOTE: The three goals above became suggested goals for SustaVariety communities. For more on that, see Three Goals for SustaVariety Communities, Three Ways To Strive Towards These Goals, and One Recommended Next Step.

In Summary

Perhaps the above, by clarifying things like what we mean by SustaVariety, how we can know when we’re getting it, how we can know when we’re making progress towards getting more of it, and some goals for pursuing it, can assist us as we create, grow, spread, experience, and enjoy SustaVariety.