When I first became vegetarian 34 years ago, and then vegan nearly 11 years ago, it was about the suffering I didn’t want to contribute to.

It was for the animals. And it always will be.

And yet, something unexpected happened.

I’m not talking about the health benefits, though they certainly exist.

I’m talking about the person you become when, multiple times every single day, you choose compassion over convenience. Ethics over eating like almost everyone around you.

Over the years, veganism has shaped me in a way vegetarianism never did.

Some of that shaping has been beautiful.

Some of it has been incredibly hard.

And much of it feels like a constant negotiation — a line in the sand that keeps moving and often feels beyond my control.

Because choosing veganism makes one decision incredibly clear — and somehow make a whole lot of other decisions much more complicated.

The way to respond to loved ones with vastly different opinions… and values.

The decisions to make surrounding who you eat with… and what social occasions to attend.

The desire to draw a firm boundary — and the guilt you might feel when you do.

For someone not naturally inclined to draw attention to myself, veganism has almost forced me to practise qualities that younger, shy, introverted Kate might have imagined belonged to someone else.

There is courage in being the odd one out.

In repeatedly choosing the non-status-quo option.

Learning to say the difficult, potentially polarising thing.

Having the clarity to know what matters most and the courage to live your life aligned with that is not so “normal”, sadly.

It takes confidence to ask the question.

Be the “difficult” one.

Decline what everyone else is having.

Stand your ground.

And explain WHY when someone asks — or move on, knowing it’s about them, not you, when you get those inevitable eye rolls and dismissive comments.

Eventually some muscles get stronger simply because you’ve had to use them so often.

Then there are the things you learn you NEED.

Because courage and confidence alone are not enough when you’re repeatedly exposed to things that seem so cruel, exploitative and mind-bogglingly unnecessary.

To find your people.

The others who just “get it”.

Where you can drop your armour and there’s no need to censor or filter your words… or your heart.

To decide on your boundaries.

And these will change.

It takes constant effort to understand what you can tolerate — and what costs you too much.

To build resilience.

Because every single time you open social media, walk through a supermarket or hear someone you love discuss the meal they just ate, you’re confronted with evidence of just how stubbornly ingrained the belief is that animals are simply products — bred or captured for profit and pleasure.

And then there are the harder qualities.

I might have imagined veganism automatically makes us more compassionate.

And I feel the judgement of non-vegans when “angry Kate” raises her head from amidst the self-enforced cover of calm and practised patience.

Yet continuing to lead with compassion towards people whose choices you find utterly heartbreaking is much harder than extending compassion to the animals.

I feel certain the non-vegans in my life have ZERO idea just how much time I spend not thinking about vegan recipes, happy cows in sanctuary or even the horror of terrified pigs in gas chambers…

And rather the HOURS I spend strategising how to show up with compassion, patience and non-judgement for THEM.

My vegan friends, I know you understand this.

The cycle of:

“Be the vegan you wish you met.”

And then the frustration of:

“Why don’t they get it this many years on?”

The rational recognition that calm, patient, “meet them where they are” advocacy is more effective than brutal truth bombs…

And then the heart-led urgency you feel when tens of billions of animals suffer miserable, short lives and die in terror while otherwise compassionate humans declare:

“Too hard.”

“Too extreme.”

Or… “What difference will my actions make?”

And maybe that’s the part I hadn’t anticipated.

Veganism wasn’t simply going to change what I ate, bought or supported.

It was going to ask me to change too.

I’ve learnt through building a business that it’s never only about the impact or income you build.

It’s also about the person you become in the process.

I’m starting to see veganism is the same.

Which makes me wonder…

I launched myself full throttle into veganism with abundant, overflowing hope, passion, energy and an idealistic vision of the future.

I’m definitely not suggesting those things are completely eviscerated by year eleven. 😆

However…

You do have to work to keep some of them alive.

Qualities you thought might be self-fuelling because they are just so GOOD actually require you to fight to protect and maintain them.

Your hope, joy and happiness.

Your belief that people can change.

Your ability to see good in humans when you’ve just witnessed something horrific.

Your willingness to keep speaking rather than deciding nobody listens anyway.

Your compassion for people who aren’t there yet.

Perhaps even your softness alongside your strength.

The heart you still lead with — even though the temptation is to lock its broken pieces up behind a hard iron wall of indifference.

Because I don’t want becoming stronger to mean becoming harder.

If we’re serious about creating a more compassionate vegan world, who do we need to become to keep creating it?

Strong.

Healthy.

Courageous.

Hopeful.

Connected.

Able to recover.

And willing to ask for support.

Because resilience doesn’t mean not getting beaten down and broken by what we know.

It means having a way to recover — to drag ourselves back or accept a hand extended — when we do.

You don’t have to burn out to prove you care.

I’m not trying to learn how to care less.

I care enormously. With every ounce of my being.

And I’m trying to build a life that allows me to carry that care without being crushed by it.

Because this is about longevity in a cause I intend to give my life to.

That’s why I’m so fiercely protective of what I call my Big Rocks.

The supportive, stabilising things that keep me strong enough to show up for what matters.

Yours will likely look different to mine.

What matters is knowing what reliably keeps YOU strong.

There’s the proactive investment in future-you.

Top of my list? Lifting weights.

There’s the reactive response when you need to escape the turmoil in your head and change your energy.

My go-to? A walk in nature.

And then there are the essentials that fuel your energy… in every sense.

Good food. Quality sleep. Time with people you love.

And something I’ve recently become a little obsessed with are the bookends to my day.

For me, that’s meditation in the morning and journaling in the evening.

Yet I’ve realised it’s not only about the habits.

It’s about the energy I let into those edges of my day.

I like my energy.

I know that sounds a little weird.

Yet I think it’s partly why I get up so ridiculously early and go to bed so early.

I get time with ME before I’m responding to or absorbing everyone else’s moods, needs and energy.

And I’ve become increasingly protective of who and what gets access to me first and last.

And yet, as much as I love my own energy…

We weren’t meant to become people who do it all alone.

Maybe one of the biggest changes in me is that I used to think being strong meant being incredibly self-sufficient.

I don’t believe that anymore.

I think part of staying strong is knowing when you need your people.

People who understand why this matters and are committed to doing, not just saying.

People who remind you who you are when you’re so tired, frustrated or disappointed that it all feels hopeless.

People who bring out the best in you simply by observing the way THEY show up.

The bold courage. Relentless tenacity. And love-fuelled fight they bring to a world where indifference and apathy can feel overwhelmingly normal.

Doing hard things will always be worthwhile.

Doing them alongside other like-hearted people makes them less hard.

And so much more enjoyable.

This month I welcomed my first Premium members into a 12-month program inside Plant Positive on Skool.

People committed to showing up for themselves so they’re able to keep showing up for the people, animals and causes more important to them.

If you’ve heard of the 30-day program I run, Thrive in 30, you’ll know it helps create momentum.

Premium is about what happens after motivation and momentum inevitably fluctuate.

Premium is a full year — and includes four rounds of Thrive in 30 — because I’m not only interested in helping someone have an amazing month.

I want to help them build something they can keep returning to.

To stop starting over and keep building.

Together. As a like-hearted, plant-powered team.

I have a ridiculously good founding-price deal for Premium which ends September 28.

If Premium sounds like the support you’d love for the year ahead, you can learn more via the show notes for today’s episode or email me directly at kate@strongbodygreenplanet.com.

And then October 1, our next round of Thrive in 30 starts.

I’m so very excited for this round because it happens to be the one-year anniversary of Thrive in 30.

And actually, one year ago was when it finally sunk in for me that I don’t have to do this alone either.

If my goal is as audacious as helping create a vegan world, then I need all the help, support, friendship and collective energy I can get.

I might be the coach inside Thrive in 30 and Plant Positive, however that doesn’t mean the learning only travels in one direction.

Every round, I learn from the people beside me too.

Their ideas. Their struggles. Their wins. Their determination.

The different ways they find to keep going.

And I think that’s another part of who I’ve become.

Someone much more willing to believe in the power of doing hard things together.

Because whether we’re talking about our health, our goals or the world we’re fighting for, I keep coming back to the same thing:

I want us here for the long haul.

Strong. Healthy. Courageous. Hopeful. Connected.

Still capable of joy.

Still soft enough to care this damn much.

And still showing up.

For the animals. Always.

For when you know exactly how much better you do with accountability, a clear focus + people in your corner.

Premium is my 12-month coaching + accountability program inside Plant Positive, designed to help you build a healthier, stronger, more consistent plant-powered life — with support for the months when motivation and momentum inevitably fluctuate.

The Premium founding price is available until September 28.

Learn more about Premium in Skool here: (Not in Skool? You are welcome to email me via kate@strongbodygreenplanet.com instead)

This journal and daily planner follows a twelve month format however is not dated so it is perfect to use at ANY time of the year.

Connect with Kate across the socials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube and her Skool Community, Plant Positive.

With love and gratitude plant friends.