New Year’s resolutions are often cheap or unrealistic pledges which temporarily make us feel better about ourselves. They tend to follow a pattern every year:

Week 1 – “New year. Let’s do this!”

Week 2 – “I should really get back to that resolution. But I can’t, because reasons.”

Week 3 – “…”

Skip to Week 6 – “Yeah; that was a thing for about 2 days. Oh well.”

You get the idea. This year is different though. There’s a new year’s resolution you and I or anyone else can make that is so absurdly easy and will actually make a very tangible impact when it comes to Cascadia.

The number one obstacle to the growth of the Cascadia movement is very simple: awareness. A vast majority of people in the region simply don’t know what Cascadia is and haven’t heard of it in any significant context before. That’s a big obstacle that’s difficult to remove, but the solution itself is easy: make sure more people are aware of Cascadia.

You can do something about this. You can be a direct contributor to the growth of the Cascadia movement and it will cost you nothing. Furthermore, each time you do it, it takes approximately one second of your time.

Here it is: in conversations when anything regarding the “Pacific Northwest” comes up, say “Cascadia” instead. That’s it. That is literally all you have to do and it will have a very real impact.

By doing this, a topic of conversation goes from this:

Other Person: “We’re getting a lot of rain recently. More than usual for the Pacific Northwest.”

You: “I don’t mind. It helps keep the Pacific Northwest green.”

Other Person: “True.”

[End of topic]

To this:

Other Person: “We’re getting a lot of rain recently. More than usual for the Pacific Northwest.”

You: “I don’t mind. It helps keep Cascadia green.”

Other Person: “Cascadia? What’s that?”

You: “Cascadia. It’s the name for the Pacific Northwest. It’s here. It’s us.”

Other Person: “Why not just say ‘Pacific Northwest’ then?”

[Expand upon importance of Cascadia]

Seriously, this is the easiest thing in the world to do to spread awareness and begin making real change in the minds of others. In this example, you’ve just introduced someone to our region’s name and explained why it’s important. That other person is now aware. Maybe s/he becomes intrigued and wants to know more, maybe s/he doesn’t. Regardless, you can bet the term “Cascadia” is going to come up again for this person in some context and s/he won’t remain ignorant or just cast it aside; s/he will remember than time you mentioned “Cascadia” and what it meant.

So, in 2016, commit to this: replace “Pacific Northwest” with “Cascadia”. The more you say it, the more natural it becomes. It’s important and empowering. We’re more than just a distant part of the United States and Canada. We have a unique region based in environment with a corresponding identity that the rest of continent does not possess. The more you say “Pacific Northwest” after acknowledging this fact, the more you reinforce the notion that we don’t matter. So, say “Cascadia” instead.

Have a happy and safe new year. Be part of the change Cascadia needs.

Interested in learning more about Cascadia? You can buy your copy of Towards Cascadia today: