You *will* change your life

Do you think you can't lower the miles that you drive?  Do you have conditions that make it impossible?

The following is a post I made on Noimpactman:

"Change.

I guess the other 6 billion people are just luckier than you (an absurd thought!)? Or perhaps they're just placing other things first? Perhaps your great great grandparents generation had some kind of magic that allowed them to survive without SUVs and Americun Idolz and the jobs that were 50 miles away?

Total frickin' cop-out and it's a horrible excuse. You may not be able to live sustainably now, but to simply say "I can't because .. . (insert blank here)" isn't an option. It's a little like saying you're going on a no-food diet-- it's absurd. Stop it with the excuses.

What would it take for people to change? You've had a year of the noimpactman project and decades of environmentalists and an entire world history to model yourself after. You don't *have* to be some pot smoking, tree hugging hippie to do it. Hells bells-- I'm a pro-business, average joe, can-do guy; I *try*, and I have a plan to modify my lifestyle to make it more fulfilling. And you're a liar if you say that the 50 mile drive is worth it every day. No job is worth that. Apparently the planet that your 5 children will inherit isn't worth it to you either.

Think. Try *something*

And stop insulting the 5 billion (yes BILLION-- that's more than 10 times the population of the United States!) by saying that you don't have the *ability* to not drive 50 miles. Most people would love to feed themselves on a piece of land no bigger than your backyard; perhaps your neighbor's as well.

"Can't". Stop telling *this* crowd what you "can't" do something that you *must* do. You make it sound like it's an option. You know less about what you "can't" do than countless others who've been in your shoes and *have* made the necessary adjustments (and are living quite well on moderate to lowere incomes. . . with families. . . and house payments. . . and every other excuse anyone can think of).

Simply put, you're wrong. You not only *can*, but you *will* change your habits. Again, what's the necessary price? $5/gal? $8/gal? (<--the current European price). Not only will you change your habits, but if you don't do it now/soon, you'll be wasting this opportunity to pocket some of that gas money in savings. You want to tell this crowd you "can't" do such and such because of this or that reason-- we all know they're just excuses because we all used to be that way. You'll be able to find an alternative, else how the hell did people SURVIVE UP UNTIL NOW??? I guarentee you that you *will* change-- how much money you choose to save over your peers in the process of changing, and how much of a "victim of circumstance" you feel like is up to you.

But don't. . . *ever*. . . say you "can't"."

Comments

[Jessy]

One of the reasons why some people aren't able to give up their vehicles is through personal choice or doesn't know all the different resources to do it. On average, it's easier for a person who lives in a city to give up a vehicle or willing to find easier transportation for errands/work, over a person who lives out in the country where the nearest town is more than 20-30 miles away. I agree on one thing- if a person complains about their finances on gas and lack of time at home by going everywhere to/from work, they can change that by a move or reanalyze their finances (examples). Anybody can change their lifestyle, but there are some cases that will be harder and take longer adjustment periods over others.

[Zach]

That's part of what this blog is about: knowing-- and accepting-- the consequences of your personal choices. Too often I hear people labeling their choices as the ONLY options available to them, and that's just irresponsible.

[Zach]

That's part of what this blog is about: knowing-- and accepting-- the consequences of your personal choices. Too often I hear people labeling their choices as the ONLY options available to them, and that's just irresponsible.