The Benefits of Creating a Community

Taking a community approach to problem solving is something that will aid in fostering sustainable behavior changes. By working to create a positive social environment in which we can receive critical support from peers, it becomes easier to make progress in a project like this one.

The process of forming a community around my sustainable behavior change has allowed me to gain ideas about how to improve my own habits. By gaining insight about others’ progress and methodology on how to approach making a positive change of habits, it becomes less daunting to do so myself.

It was interesting to see that most other members of my group suffered from the same practices that created my poor habits. For some reason, it seems that many individuals find it difficult to remember to flip off the light switch when they are in a hurry to leave their dorm room. This has made me realize how the only real barrier to me using less less unnaturally produced light is a psychological one.

Additionally, I found another commonality between me and other members of my sustainable behavior challenge group. At times, it is difficult to assess the progress I make and the number or times I remember to turn off my light when my roommate also accounts for some of the inconsistency in behavior. Not only this, but when I have friends come over to my room, their initial action might be to turn on a light. Sometimes it can be hard to remember to turn the light back off when preoccupied with other things.

Yet in other cases, it seems that some other girls in my dorm’s wing have become interested in my behavior change project and have contributed their own ideas and opinions! The two girls who live across the hall from me have also begun to make some sustainable choices regarding their natural light use during the day. It’s been extremely motivating to see that my actions are being viewed positively by the community of people that I live with. Hopefully, I will make this behavior change a habit that can continue to influence others, both inside and outside of this sustainable behavior challenge blog project!