Less stress equals more success…
Bad News: Only 8% of Americans actually achieve their New Year’s resolution…
Good News: You’re about to be in that 8%!
Most of us fail to realize our goals because we try to do too much too soon. We try to drastically change our habits which causes a lot of stress and is unsustainable. That’s why, despite our best intentions we find ourselves slipping back into what’s comfortable – falling back onto our old habits.
So instead of giving you a list of played out To Do’s like stop eating meat and stop buying bottled water, this series takes a completely different approach. We’re going to focus on making your everyday habits just a bit more eco-friendly and we’ll watch them compound into big savings over time (🍎+🌲+💰).
The Why Behind The How:
Consider the most common new years resolutions:
- changing your diet
- exercising daily
- quitting smoking
In every case, folks are trying to reverse habits they’ve built up over years in just a matter of days or weeks. That’s like trying to clean out the house of a hoarder in one day. Not easy.
Unless you have the whole A&E TV crew to help you, it’s more effective to clean out a few pieces of trash every day when you get home from work. It might take some time, but at the end of a few months you’ll not only have a clean house, but you’ll also be used to cleaning regularly so you won’t fall back into your old ways.
One step at a time: While you’re chipping away at your goal with no real expense to the quality of your life, the other 92% of Americans charge full steam ahead, try to do it all over one weekend, get burnt out, and give up. Let’s be successful this year…
Setting Realistic Goals
We don’t have much control over whether or not Trump will dismantle the EPA or even whether or not our neighbors will recycle their newspaper. But we do have control over our own actions and even the smallest can have big impacts.
The vast majority of us are simply unconscious of the environmental impact many of our daily habits have. Our goal is to become aware of those and seemlessly transition to more sustainable habits in the easiest way possible.
More Good News: Most of these new eco-friendly habits will also help you be healthier and save money.
So plant the seeds for new habits today and watch them grow into a healthy forest tomorrow. You’re on your way to a greener and healthier 2017.
Today’s Tip:
Start with the right mind set.
Take it slow, set realistic goals, and do what you can. The next 29 tips will help you make small changes in your daily life that will have a huge impact over time.
Your Action Item:
Achieve the right mindset. Understand that this is about doing what you can to be more sustainable in your daily life, not a guide to single handedly save the world.
If you’re not on board already, you can get in here:
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#2 Reducing Your Consumption >>
More Resources:
To dig deeper on this subject, check out this post about the sweet spot for environmentalists which will help you understand how to find the happy medium between being eco-friendly and sacrificing your life for the trees.
If you need a little inspiration this 2 min read is good one: We Each Do What We Can
A few good books:
If you want to understand more about why we form habits, how they impact our lives, and the best ways to turn bad habits into good habits this is a great book. It gives scientific context to real life applications of how habits can influence our lives so you can understand the why behind the how.
This book is focused mostly on business success but it does a great job of illustrating how habits make us who we are and how seemingly little things can add up to big change. Darren Hardy explains what great achievers have in common (hint: it’s good habits) and how to incorporate them into your own life.
Save The World and Still Be Home for Dinner
Author Will Marre, who worked hand-in-hand with Steven Covey to produce 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote this inspiring book that helps the “ordinary” citizen understand their role in the environmental movement. It’s a quick read that can help transition you from feeling helpless to empowered in a time where environmental stewardship is needed most.