Photo Credit: Flickr/mrs enil
The first week of January, I participated in a week-long experiment where I lived as far off the grid as possible. (Click and read my No Impact Experiment series to learn more). I started out pretty nervous about the whole process, wondering how I was going to eat, shop, stay entertained, etc. through the whole week. And as I started preparing more for the challenge, I began to realize that I was going to do just fine. I actually loved the experience and can’t wait to try it again in the near future.
One of the things I changed about myself during the experiment was my dependence on the good ol’ television as a presence in my life. This was one of the bigger things as I had always been a person who needed the TV on pretty much all the time. I didn’t even always watch what was on, I just felt comforted to hear the low hum. Maybe I thought of the TV as a friend who was always there for me whether I needed it or not.
But all of that changed during the experiment. The first day I went TV-less, I was amazed by how much more productive I was. How much I enjoyed not drowning my life and thoughts with the mindless babble of sit-coms and commercials. How much better my sleep was (because yes, I kept it on low as I slept so that I didn’t hear the nighttime creaks and noises that can cause you to bolt out of a deep sleep right into panic mode). I loved the new rituals I was developing by not having TV on and I prided myself on this epic change. I told everyone about it and how wonderful I felt.
Then I got sick.
I spent many days in bed with some hellacious cold and flu symptoms and guess who came to comfort me – that darn television. I had been TV-less for almost 3 weeks but in an instant, I forgot everything that was good about my life without television. I got sucked back into my lifelong addiction.
This is not an unusual phenomenon when we look at the psychology behind habit change – either breaking an old habit or creating a new one. It takes about three weeks for a habit change to really stick and I also believe that it takes positive reinforcement as well as self-forgiveness. Think about it, you have done something the same way for as long as you remember, it won’t change overnight. And it won’t magically change without your active involvement.
But you also have a higher chance of being successful if you recognize when you slip, why you slip, and allow yourself a little grace when you do. If you beat yourself up about it, you will feel that you failed and you will be less likely to try again. When you recognize that you can accept these slip-ups not as failures but as temporary lapses, you are more encouraged to try again. Remember, tomorrow is always a new day.
When I work with clients to help them develop green habits, it takes time for them to feel success. It takes more than just giving a client a list of things they should do. We work together to identify habit changes that they can easily adopt and those that will take more work. And we work on them. Be it email reminders or visual cues that they can hang in their home, we all need reminders and support when we are trying a new way of doing something. And when they feel like they have failed, just as I felt a pang of failure with my television relapse, I offer my hand to help them back up.
What happened to my fragile psyche after I turned my TV back on? Well, I try again.
Eco Home Consultations provides green living consultation services in the Seattle area, focusing on practical ways to integrate green living into your household. Learn more at www.ecohomeconsults.com or email questions about this blog or other green living issues to Melissa@ecohomeconsults.com.
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