Y’all, every day we go through tons of habits and routines without a second thought. Wake up, check twitter, walk the dog, take a shower, get dressed, start commuting and so on. I bet ya don’t even think about it, do you? I don’t! It’s like I’m a little robot on autopilot every day. There are times on my commute I don’t remember how I got a 1/2 mile down the road already. Bit concerning.
It’s easy to fall into a routine and zone out. Like me going to the grocery store and using plastic bags. They were right there! I Just needed to dump my boxes of perogies and wine in the bag, and get gone!
Deep down, I knew I should be using reusable bags. It’s good for the planet and my closet space. One should not have so many plastic bags shoved in plastic bags. Yet, the idea of changing this habit got a big ole YIKES!
Listen, we all want to be Eco-Friendly! I know. All the same, changing our habits and routines? Seems daunting.
However, changing our habits doesn’t actually have to be so hard.
I’m here to show you how I changed my bad habits into good ones. First, let’s talk about habits and habit loops.
1. What is a Habit?
So for me to hack my mind, and switch my habits I had to understand what I was dealing with.
A habit is an action/routine you do so much, it becomes your automatic response. Your habit can be anything from how you get ready in the morning; to how you react to a mean comment.
2. Habit Loops
According to Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, our habits tend to follow a Cue > Routine> Reward format. Which creates Habit loops!
Let’s say your cue is; you’re bored. What’s your routine to being bored? It may be you go straight to social media, read a book, or you’re superhuman and you work out.
If you are the latter…who are you? Are you superhuman? Cousins with like Beyonce herself or something? Tell me your ancient secrets ya heathen!
Whatever your routine is, your response is likely to give you a positive reward. Whether it’s getting lost in a good book, feeling caught up on social media, or the endorphins from working out. Gotta love those endorphins.
We keep doing certain things because they get us a good reward.
I’m sure you’ve heard the antidote, it takes 30 days to break a habit and while that is true. There’s an opposing idea, that if the reward were fulfilling enough it could speed up the process of making a habit stick.
A podcast on Eco-chic, gave the example of kids and cell phones. If they got one fresh out of the package it’s likely they’d know what to do with it and get semi addicted to it right then. There would be no 30-day process, it would be instant.
We can do that to ourselves. We’d have to make our reward personal and feel good to us!
3. Rewire that Habit
Let’s say you are thirsty(cue) and only drink out of plastic bottles. You like a specific brand, distilled and balanced with vitamins and all the goodies. So you reach for the single-use bottle (routine) and drink in all the perfect goodness of that water (reward).
Take a beat and think. What could be done to disrupt your old routine and use a reusable bottle?
Would it have to be your favorite color, does it need to have a filter in the bottle, do you need to be able to infuse it with flavor, or see it in a clear container?
Think about what makes you trust/want plastic bottles. How could you incorporate you’re gotta haves into a reusable one bottle? For me, I have a large hydro flask(a gift by my gorgeous sis in law) that I always have on me. I got into using it because it keeps my water cold, and can hold enough water for my workday. I’ve been using this bottle for two years consistently! Vastly reducing how many plastic bottles I’ve used.
| Americans purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year, averaging about 13 bottles per month for every person in the U.S.! That means by using a reusable water bottle, you could save an average of 156 plastic bottles annually.[https://www.aiga.org/case-study-watershed |
To tie it up
Changing up how we live, doesn’t have to be a chore! It takes a bit of effort, but knowing about habits gives you a serious advantage! I challenge you to start with using a reusable water bottle or any other small change, for just one week. That’s it!
When you get through the week, push it to a month. Then the next month pick a new habit to create. Before you know it being Eco conscience will feel like second nature!
You do not have to redo your life to be more Eco conscience. Just keep taking steps each month and you’ll develop green habits in no time! Remember you can hack those habits!
