Small wins

Mindset of Change

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead, anthropologist

When you start thinking about how you live your life, and you begin to adapt your lifestyle to be more sustainable, you start to see all kinds of knock on effects. Sustainable decisions you make in one area of your life start to facilitate sustainable decisions in other areas. Other people start to think about their choices differently because you do, and it becomes easier to explain to people why you choose the way you do. The skeptics, who poopoo'd the desire to change, begin to notice that, far from causing ill effects, better choices lead to better outcomes. In other words, you build momentum.

I'll give you three examples.

Example #1: This year I'm finally moving off Citibank. I switched over my loan payments, my credit card payments, and my paycheck. One more payment cycle and I'll close my account at one of the biggest dirty banks. Going forward, I will be banking with Atmos, a green bank.

Today, I noticed that Atmos has well priced solar loans. As it happens, we have already installed solar, but if I was still looking at financing options, this would have been so welcome. It's a great example of how one sustainable decision (greening my bank) can facilitate another (cheaper solar installation). Green financing for climate action!

Example #2: I've been slowly reducing my meat consumption for a few years now. I don't know that I'll ever go back to being vegetarian completely (although, never say never), but I average around 2-3 meals a week with meat (excluding eggs) and my dairy consumption has also been pretty drastically reduced (from a former brie addict to making butter a conscious choice). Not only have I lost weight and saved money, but the challenge of reorienting our cooking around plant-based meals has been a great bonding activity for my husband and I. It feels like we're working together to be more creative and healthy. Such a productive vibe.

Also, due to cutting back on meat, I discovered my new favorite restaurant in Chicago! If you're in the area, give Bloom a try. They really showcase that being plant based loses you nothing in terms of class, flavor, or satisfaction. I love that I can go there and every single choice is incredibly delicious, guilt free, and I don't get the itis after. Finally, my gluten-free mom, my vegan friends, and my foodie friends can all have a fantastic meal together (and so many choices!). Nothing supports quality better than universal design.

Example #3: I recently decided to try to bike more. For a long time, I just didn't feel safe riding around the city. I knew too many people who had bad accidents from careless drivers. But in the last couple of years, Chicago has added a lot of dedicated, protected bike lanes and it's made biking around a no-brainer.

Because I bike more now, I've deepened some friendships and have been planning long bike rides around the Chicago area. Not only am I exploring my neighborhood and finding beautiful, unexpected spots, but biking as an activity (along with gardening!) has replaced eating rich food and drinking as a pastime on the weekends (au revoir mimosa brunch!). This one seemingly small choice has helped me be healthier, save money, and find more community.

Small wins are really important for gaining momentum to carry you through bigger choices. Things like installing solar, buying an EV, greening your finances, and even reorienting family Christmas to be less consumption-based, can all feel like way too much at first. It's easy to say, "well, I'd love to be more sustainable, but that really just won't work for me or my family," and give up altogether. Especially when you encounter The Big Three.

The Big Three

These are the things we tell ourselves to avoid making changes in our lives.

1. But they are doing so much worse. On the news, you hear about celebrities flying their private jets around irresponsibly. BP has a new oil spill in South America. There's a methane flare in Russia producing the green house gas emissions of small countries. Why do I have to change my behavior? They should have to do it first!
2. My impact is so tiny. Compared to corporations or the military, individual emissions are small, a tiny fraction of the total. Most of our daily choices have a relatively small impact. I really enjoy eating burgers, and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really make any difference.
3. Other people will think I'm that person. Human beings are hard wired to feel social pressure. Staying with the group and not standing out is how social species survive in nature. Today, it is a stronger urge in some cultures than in others. Regardless of your capacity to stand against peer pressure, we have all met someone obnoxiously proselytizing their values. Nobody wants to be that person. Maybe at home I could make some changes, but I don't want to rock the boat at restaurants or at work.

All of these are legitimate concerns. Celebrities and corporations DO have huge impact, and our individual changes are tiny in a 1:1 comparison. And yes, doing things differently from your peers or family can be uncomfortable. But at the same time, all of these highlight exactly why individual choices are so necessary and powerful.

Individual choices are small, but in aggregate, they make a big difference. It doesn't take millions either. One person can influence their family and their neighborhood, which can influence their community, which can influence their town or city, which can influence their state, which can influence a country, which can influence the world.

Once you are comfortable with your decisions at home, they naturally begin to show up amongst friends and at the workplace. At some point, instead of having to actively think about changing our behavior to be more sustainable, our instinct flips - sustainable choices become the norm and making the unsustainable choice feels odd. When that happens, you'll wonder why you ever ate so much meat, or bought so much useless stuff, or sat in traffic so much before. Your body, your wallet and your hobbies show the difference.

So don't give up just because something doesn't feel doable right now. That's ok. Change takes time. Find something you can do easily right now. Maybe its just changing the milk in your coffee, or taking the bus on the weekend when you don't have as much time pressure. Maybe you decide to grow some herbs on your windowsill. Accumulate some small wins. By the time you hit the 'big ones' they don't feel so big anymore. And in the meantime, you're not only influencing other people; you're influencing yourself.