Everyone needs a BOOST
Written by Martina Cannata
What do a solar farm stuck in a permitting queue and a Monday-morning version of you have in common? Both are perfectly capable of moving forward — they just need a BOOST.
This analogy has been on my mind a lot lately, because "boost" isn't just a figure of speech for me. It is the name of a project Th!nk E was awarded, and that I have just started coordinating.
Where it started: RAA-PERMIT-BOOST
RAA-PERMIT-BOOST is a LIFE project focused on Renewable Acceleration Areas (RAAs) across EU Member States — the zones where solar, wind, and other renewable projects are meant to move through permitting faster, so clean energy actually gets built instead of sitting in administrative limbo. The technology usually isn't the bottleneck. The paperwork is. Our job is to clear the friction so the energy that's already there can actually reach the grid.
We recently held our official kick-off meeting in Brussels, bringing every consortium partner together in the same room for the first time. It was a genuine boost in itself: one day of real human and professional interaction — putting faces to names, sharing jokes, hearing everyone's take on the challenges ahead — did more for our motivation than weeks of emails ever could. We walked in as individual players and left as members of a team with a shared sense of energy and momentum for the work ahead.
Kicking this off made me notice something: the logic of a " boost" shows up everywhere, not just in energy policy.
We all run on different kinds of boosts
A renewable project needs a permitting boost. But people need boosts too — we just don't always call them that.
- Motivation boost — the small nudge that turns "I should" into "I did." A deadline, a friend's check-in, a playlist.
- Travel boost — a change of scenery that resets your perspective faster than willpower ever could.
- Connection boost — a real conversation, a shared meal, an unplanned call that recharges something no amount of scrolling time can.
None of these create energy from nothing. In my case, the boost that recharges my batteries and keeps me going is empowering people – smoothing out problems and finding solutions to allow them to perform at their best. Like an RAA, all of these boosts clear the friction standing between the energy you already have and the outcome you're trying to reach.
Why this matters for mood and wellbeing
Psychologists talk about "small wins" and"positive nudges" for a reason: wellbeing rarely comes from one big overhaul. It comes from repeated, well-timed boosts — a walk outside, a good laugh, a project that finally gets unstuck. Each one is small, but they compound, the same way clearing a single permitting bottleneck can unlock an entire pipeline of renewable capacity.
The takeaway
Progress — whether it's a wind farm or a person having a hard week — is rarely about starting from zero. It's about identifying exactly where things are stuck and giving that one spot a boost. RAA-PERMIT-BOOST is doing that for renewable energy in Europe. I'd encourage you to ask where you could use one too.
What's your boost today?
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