Get it out
Complaints. Everyone has them. Like, why does my neighbor idle in his big diesel truck every single gosh darn morning? So much so that I can smell the fumes a block away as I turn the corner with my dogs. I mean, it’s a lot, right? They don’t notice? They haven’t heard about the warming climate?
And, litter. Oh, my goodness. I mean, it isn’t as bad as a hyper urban area, but it’s enough that I could probably fill a 13 gallon kitchen bag daily merely on one walk.
In Austin, we have these openings on every block with a cute little metal frog medallion that says something like, ‘no dumping, drains to creek’. Apparently, no one cares about frogs.
But then, after some amount of complaining in my head, I snap myself back into my own reality, needs, to-do’s, criticisms, successes, failures, and imperfections.
Not to be complacent, but as a reminder there isn’t any judgement about the humans, but about the behavior, why it happens, and the deep well that needs to be dug in order to create change in others.
As hard as it is to create change even in my own self, it is a decades long process to create change societally. I like the way a website of a famous book on creating behavior change societally calls it simple:
“The Ladder is a simple model designed to structure insights and tips for behavior change.”
Not simple. Maybe this is just a guide in how to be a better manipulator for good. (I have a super hero image in mind right now with a big MFG on her chest and cape sailing in a cool wind and Da dah da DAAH regally in the background on shiny bugles.)
I mean, think about your good friend who still buys glitter and balloons — haven’t they heard about all the damage and preventable deaths in wild animals those things are causing? Or — geez, who hasn’t been here — trying to change a boyfriend or girlfriend. Yea — a near impossible task and one that, many would argue, should not be embarked upon to begin with… You know, because ‘love’.
Well, five minutes have come and gone and I’m committed to setting my alarm now to 3:45 am for at least a month, but optimally for three or more. I think I read in the Vertical Mind that it takes at least 3 months. But indeed I did hear on a podcast from a nutritionist that it takes at least 3 months to get any benefits from being alcohol free — and, so, yes, that is another goal. I think it was on a recent Tim Ferris Random Show, but his search bar is crap so I can’t find it. Anyway, 3 months. Ironically, they were drinking tequila on the show talking about what they were going to do come the new year.
Well, the new year is here.
Out with the old, in with the new.
