Back in college, my sorority had a rule when we were voting in new members: anyone who used the word “nice” to describe a rush candidate got sprayed with a Super Soaker.
Yeah, it’s weird. But we never made the mistake of voting in women just because they were nice. That’s the point.
It amazes me how many PR and marketing professionals talk about the importance of conversation – that numbers and fans and followers don’t matter, and that’s it’s actually about building relationships. I don’t disagree with them. The part I disagree with is the conversations they seem to want.
The conversations most people want are the ones where you nod your head in sheep-like agreement, write a comment like “Wow, that’s amazing!” and generally participate in the virtual circle jerk.
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Gas prices are going up. Again. So what?
Here’s the thing about rising gas prices – we still pay them. I still pay them, in some form. And truthfully, I’m done talking about rising gas prices, because I’m comfortable with my gas consumption and the costs associated with it. But I also don’t drive a car much these days, and people who drive a lot seem to be more upset about rising gas prices than anyone else.
What do rising gas prices have to do with personal development? Plenty. Because if you react negatively to rising gas prices that might give you insight to how you react in other situations too.
Do You Complain?
We don’t need as much gas as we consume to survive. Water definitely, food comes second, shelter is pretty nice too. But gas? Not so much.
We already know this, right? So what gets to me is people who complain about the prices of gas and then line up at the pump to pay them. Doesn’t make sense, when there are alternatives to driving your car everywhere, the least utilized of which are attached to the lower half of your body. For other cheap alternatives, try biking, skateboarding, roller blading, carpools, scooters, buses, trains, and planes. Some may still use gas, but the cost is lower or split.
And really, we complain because we think it’s justified. In all aspects of life, not just rising gas prices. But if we were justified in our complaints then we would have good reason to stop buying gas. Since we keep buying it, rising gas prices isn’t a good enough reason yet. Maybe when it hits $10 a gallon?
Do You Blame?
Who is responsible for rising gas prices? The government? Bush? The war on Iraq? SUV owners? Greedy gas companies?
I’m no economist, but I don’t think any of them are truly to blame for gas prices. We love to point fingers at others when things go wrong, but sometimes the problem is ourselves. So maybe the person to blame for rising gas prices is you. And him, and her, and me. Because each of us has the power to lower gas prices; we just lower our demand for it. For anyone who has studied even basic microeconomics, lower demand = higher supply = lower prices.
So shift the curves, not the blame. The beauty of free markets is the power lies with the people.
Do You Make Excuses?
Every time I talk about commuting or public transportation, I get people telling me reasons about why they can’t make the switch. Like their town doesn’t have public transportation, or their job/home is not on a public transportation route.
Here’s my response to those excuses: Move. Or change jobs. Because frankly, we each have our priorities, and excuses are for people who want to pretend something is a priority for them when it really isn’t. And if commuting costs are truly a priority, people have factored that into their work/life choices already, right?
So if using less gas is not a priority for you, that’s okay. Just admit it yourself. And stop worrying so much about what other people think. Be honest with yourself and others about why you chose whatever else you did over using less gas, because that something is probably important to you, and part of growing is knowing where your priorities lie.
Want lower gas prices? Do something about it. It may just help you succeed in other areas of your life too, like if you get stuck on an escalator.
Image Source: Jerry Law
There is some debate about the best way to help the environment, but it all boils down to two schools of thought. There are people who think that since they recycle or do street cleans with their church they are environmentalists. For them, it’s all about the little things we each can do to lessen our impact.
Then there are people who believe that large lifestyle changes are the only way to help the environment. For example, protesting the whole meat manufacturing industry, or minimizing the impact of your commute to work. This is where I fall.
So how did I accidentally become an environmentalist? I moved to Chicago. Yes, it was really that simple.
Moving to a large city enabled me to get rid of my car.
When I first moved to the city, I worked an hour away in the suburbs and drove over 60 miles one way every weekday. Not only did this commute take up about 3 hours of my day, but the additional pollution I was causing nawed at my conscience and I eventually realized I needed to change jobs.
Now, I work and attend school within four miles of my condo, and with the price of parking and gas in the city, it’s much more cost-efficient to take public transportation or walk/jog/bike everywhere. So we got rid of one of our cars and when I need to go more than a mile or two I take public trains and buses. While I miss driving, my daily routine is much more efficient because I can do something productive on my commute (like write this post).
Moving to a large city enabled me to become a vegetarian.
Becoming a vegetarian is not easy for most people, especially people who are very busy. Any new diet comes with a learning curve of how to substitute and prepare new foods, which busy people don’t have time for. Another concern I had was how becoming vegetarian would affect my social life. When I lived in rural Missouri, fine dining was Americanized-Mexican and dollar margaritas, and trips to fast food establishments happened every other day.
Living in the city provides a support system that addressed all my concerns. Since moving here, I’ve met so many people with special dietary needs. Like my vegan marketing professor who assigned a three page case write-up about cruelty to hens in poultry egg production. Or the guy on my team who only eats kosher meat. Also, while there is an unending supply of restaurants to eat at in the city, few of them are fast food establishments. It is fairly easy to find vegetarian food anywhere I go, and the impact of this new diet on my social life is negligent.
Moving to a large city enabled me to stop buying stuff.
Our tiny condo was more expensive than my parents’ mid-sized suburban home, but the benefit is that we can’t fit much stuff in it. We’ve been forced to get rid of things, which has been good for my closet. This also forces us to think about whether we truly need an item or not, and we’ve made a rule to get rid of two items for every one item we bring home (which my husband happily reminds me of every time I go shopping). Our lack of space has been a blessing, and we are slowly but surely embracing a simplistic, minimalist lifestyle.
Moving to a large city can help the environment? I know it seems counter-intuitive to some people, but this is my story. It’s certainly not the only way, and I don’t claim to have gotten here completely consciously – the title does say “accidentally” after all. Still, I can’t help but notice how many more tree-huggers there are in the city compared to the suburbs, and the three things I listed above give the most impact to help the environment.
Becoming an environmentalist is a way of life, not a once-monthly chance to wear a t-shirt that says “Support Organic Farmers.” Have you considered how your life choices are impacting our world?
Monica O'Brien is the Director of Digital at Fizz and author of the book Social Pollination, which helps businesses leverage social media for crazy growth!
