Author and journalist J.B. MacKinnon provides a cognitive tool for avoiding helplessness (e.g. paralysis in the face of earth's many problems) in the form of what he calls "Vertical Agitation". The concept comes from research on denial by sociologist Stanley Cohen. Cohen explains that, in the face of massive problems, people tend towards learned helplessness rather than confronting the dissonant facts of the matter.
Vertical Agitation, according to MacKinnon, means focusing on only one portion of the problem at a time, and holding oneself for the solving of that problem - all the way to the highest level of government, business and society (e.g. advocating strongly for one thing: eco-friendly lightbulbs). This allows each individual in society to make the vital "trivial" (read: small) changes, without being intimidated by the work that needs to be done as a whole. Mackinnon adds that this will also keep individuals from getting too 'holier than thou' (harassing friends and family about every possible improvement), and that widespread practice of Vertical Agitation would lead to much improvement.[98]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology
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