How many of the things we do, do we do out of habit? Lots of them, probably. It's not practical to thoroughly weigh the pros and cons of the hundreds of miniscule actions and choices we make every day. What time should I wake up? What should I eat for breakfast? Which toothpaste do I use? What should I wear? How do I get to work? For most of these things, we find something that works and we stick with it. Out of habit.
For many of the things we do every day, our habits suit us and everyone else just fine. But there are some habits that aren't benign. Some habits cause us to waste money. Some waste our time. Some, such as getting a morning coffee in a disposable cup or driving long distances to work every day in a single passenger vehicle, damage the environment that we depend on to live. Looked at in isolation, these appear to be miniscule actions with miniscule impact. But multiplied over time amongst millions of people, they add up. They add up to landfills and floating islands of garbage in the ocean and smog and climate change.
These problems can be depressing to think about. What can we do to clean up our oceans or mitigate climate change?
Such questions are overwhelming if you're trying to address these problems single-handedly. But these problems weren't created single-handedly. They're the sum of seemingly miniscule actions with seemingly miniscule impacts done by millions of people over time. The existence of these problems shows the tremendous power of our daily habits and the enormous impact they can make on the world.
Now what would happen if we changed them?
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