Reflection and Awareness
During the two weeks of winter break, I did follow my new showering schedule of 5 minutes per shower. Am I proud of myself? OFC I AM!
I showered on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. So every other day except for Monday and Sunday since they are right next to each other. But not only did I follow my showering schedule, but I also am now accustomed to showering for only 5 minutes.
How was I able to get used to this so easily?
- Maybe it's because I have a strong willpower?
- Maybe it's because it's a project and that I'm supposed (forced) to do it?
- Maybe it's because I want to save water for the future generations?
The answer here is willpower. I'm the type of person that will set a goal and accomplish that goal.
How am I able to do this and have such strong will power?
It's because in the last 17 years of my life, I have made many attempts at making goal for myself and failing at accomplishing them. So now I know the kind of realistic goal I can set and if I will be able to accomplish that goal before I make it.
It's also because of my sense of guilt. I often feel guilty for not doing what I'm supposed to. For example, I make a goal of doing my home or studying for the SAT test for at least 2 hours, I will forced myself to do them. But when I make excuses to myself to get out of doing them, I will feel guilty and will not be able to concentrate on anything that I'm doing when I'm supposed to study.
So if you want to be able to accomplish your goal, my advice to you is to train your willpower.
Now the real question is will I continue to shower for 5 minutes a day?
The answer is yes but depends on days.
There will definitely be days when I'm tired and need to be in the shower for longer, and on those days, I will not shower for only 5 minutes but a bit longer like 10 minutes.
But I will definitely and mostly limit myself to showering for 5 minutes like I'm doing right now for this project.
Has this project shaped me in any ways or forms that promote me in caring more about the environment?
Absolutely! I am now more aware about the planet's current usage of water and the expensive cost of desalinating water through desalination plants. Because of these, I will now continue looking for ways to save the planet's resources.
So I would totally recommend for the people reading these post to do the same and try to find way to save the planet's resources.
References
1) Robertson, Colin. “6 Factors That Influence Our Behavior.” Willpowered Evolution, Willpowered Evolution, 1 Dec. 2014,
www.willpowered.co/learn/factors-of-behavior-influence.
2.) Vu, An, "An biography on the many attempts at setting goals in his life." An'slife.com
3.) Robertson, David. “Year Round Winter Break: Dec. 17 - Jan. 4 (No School).” IUSD.org, 20 June 2018, iusd.org/events/year-round-winter-break-dec-17-jan-4-no-school.
Do you think your strong willpower will help you build more good habits in the future, whether they are environmentally related or not?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. My determination in accomplishing my goals not only helped me to successfully complete my goal for this project of trying out new habit to save the world but also my school life of studying for CA and do homework.
DeleteHow do we get other people to increase their willpower in order to stick with or even start their environmental habits?
ReplyDeleteBy telling/asking them why they weren't able to do what they planned to and ask them how they feel about themselves afterward. Cause if a person is not capable of doing the things they set for themselves, what else can they do?
DeleteLearning how to make realistic goals is so important! Was it difficult to get to that point?
ReplyDeleteYes! I have to reflect on my goals and think about why I weren't able to accomplish them and improve my goal setting skill over time.
DeleteDo you really think that one could accomplish anything just based on sheer willpower?
ReplyDeleteI mean I did it. So unless that person that person is incapable of depending on themselves but need the help of other then by all means....
DeleteIf you weren't forced to follow this habit, do you think you would still follow it? What if this project didn't exist?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think I'm going to follow in your footsteps and take shorter showers. I think it's a great way of reducing your carbon footprint. I usually take 15 minute showers, and, according to https://www.home-water-works.org/indoor-use/showers, showers use 2.1 gallons of water per minute on average. That's 31.5 gallons of water for a 15 minute shower! I will definitely try and reduce the amount of time I shower like you did.
This is one of the most pretentious comment I have seen but honestly I would not even think about doing this new habit if it weren't for this project. Thank you for the resource and info..:)
Delete