Audeamus – How dare we…

More often than not, no matter all your best intentions, your New Year's resolutions still fail. You probably can't even remember your 2007 resolution, can you? Although, I'm certainly one to talk – I can't remember mine either!

However, now more than ever, it is absolutely imperative to fix your carbon carnival lifestyle and work toward living your life a bit more harmoniously with nature. The why's are pretty much known to you, the only problems that remain are how and what. Here is "how", and the upcoming series with 2,008 eco-friendly and green habits will help you out with "what".

The Thirty Day Trial

A common sticking point to choosing what you should change is whether what you do will actually provide a significant impact on your carbon footprint – not to mention how to keep that habit. One way to eliminate both those worries is to resolve sticking to it for just thirty days.

Thirty days is not only much less daunting than one whole year, but that time also gives you a chance to evaluate your new habit on its actual benefit to the environment and how well it can be integrated into your lifestyle. In addition, once you have done something for 30 days, it is much easier to keep up the habit if you choose to keep it.

Steve Pavlina has an excellent article on forming new habits through a thirty day trial. He personally used that method to become a vegetarian, then a vegan.

The Twenty One Myth

I recently found out the belief that it takes 21 days to create a new habit is totally false. The HD Biz Blog not only pointed that fact out, but also provided some awesome and concrete ways to help yourself form new habits. I highly recommend you check that out for more great tips like these:

"Making important changes in your life is not to be undertaken lightly. Once you make the decision, commit yourself to it.

Find a partner in change to help you through the tough spots.

The research that you do before starting is important and needs to be thorough. Don't believe everything that you find on the Internets!

Expect it to be difficult, and prepare rewards for yourself when you make real progress.

Do not be afraid to ask for help! We have an excellent resource in our community, as many of the "Productivity Bloggers" have other expertise as well. (For example, both Rob and Ariane have both pitched in to contribute on this subject.)"

Break it Down

The general consensus in all of my habit breaking, habit forming, and productivity research over the years is to break it all down into bite size chunks. In all that you do, there are but a few essential questions you must ask yourself – the answers to which could be used as daily affirmations and planning for your goal.

• Why do I want it? Why is this thing on your radar? Do you feel guilty about not looking like the models on TV? This is probably the most important part to the entire process because you could quickly eliminate anything that was a frivolous idea or the product of media brainwashing. Really look at your why and make sure your reasoning is backed by credible sources and true personal values.
• What is it? Is this something you need to keep doing, or a one-off kind of deal? Find the root to what kind of task it is – ongoing, single serving, for you, for someone else, for your job, etc. This will help you figure out the context in which to achieve the goal and will let your mind rest when you can't possibly move forward on it.
• What is in it for me? If you're not getting anything out of it, then you are nowhere near as likely to stick by a goal. Even if it is something like "stop using plastic" you can come up with a personalized benefit – such as a better world for the people you care about, and lower gas prices as oil demand for plastic production drops. Keep your personal benefits written somewhere to read whenever you feel like you can't keep your habit.
• What is the next thing I can do now? Forget everything else you have going on right now and ask yourself "if I had the time to move forward on this right now, what would be my next physical action?" Of course this is taken straight from David Allen's GTD, and the suggestion is here for a reason – it works.

Once you have all those questions answered, take the two essentials – what you can do now and what's in it for you – and run with it. Don't worry about having it all and being perfect 100%. Just focus on one small part and add little things as time goes on.

For Example

Photo Credit: MSNBC on
San Francisco bag ban

I have an ongoing goal to stop using plastic. While this isn't exactly entirely possible in this day and age, for now I am focusing on halting my consumption of plastic.

In other words, I use a backpack to transport groceries instead of bags. In case I forget, I recycle any plastic bags I do get at the plastic recycling bin found near the entrance of most grocery stores. This was the first thing I did, forgetting all else temporarily so I could get it right.

Next I made it a point to re-use and re-purpose bottles and containers. For instance, instead of purchasing a pitcher for iced tea or cooling water, I just re-use those big juice jugs.

But then I found myself at a loss for how to expand on this concept for a greater impact. So I sat down and brainstormed a list of "20 new ways to not consume plastic." That list is stashed away until I perfect the task I'm currently working on – seek out and mostly only shop at retailers who refuse plastic too.

Coming Up

Come back soon for the first in the series of 2,008 (as in the number, not just the year) Eco-Friendly and Green Habits. The series will span all throughout 2008 with 35 great new habits every week. Happy New Year – and here's to a leaner, greener lifestyle in 2008!

Main Photo (the clocks at the top) Credit: Image by Patrick T Power

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