One of the most important things I’ve learnt these past few years is the importance of finding community. It is a lonely experience to sit with the weight of climate predictions on your shoulders, wondering whether you have misunderstood something as those around you carry on as if nothing is wrong.

It is easy to start feeling like you are the only one who cares, and that the burden of saving the earth rests entirely on your shoulders. That’s a burden that no solo human can possibly bear.

We can choose to ignore our feelings, let them overwhelm us, or use them as fuel to face complex challenges head-on.

Low emotional intelligence can mean that people can’t manage even small amounts of stress, are more prone to anxiety and depression, and are more at the mercy of sudden changes to their mood. When we’re in “fight or flight mode”, we are far more prone to binary thinking, meaning that everything is good or bad, black or white, us or them — not exactly what we need the most right now, when we are being called to solve complex problems and work together toward solutions.