Changing… my car
Image © James McLean 2024
It is not a daily event but a common one, leading to the realisation of the importance of time, identity and the process of contemplating a change to support adaptation.
Yesterday I was thrilled to announce on LinkedIn that i had purchased what I hope is the last ever, litre of petrol I need to buy for a car. I was chuffed, to say the least.
I pick up my new electric vehicle this coming Saturday. It marks a significant milestone in my quest to live a more sustainable life. And that is no easy ambition within the constraints of the different systems we all live in. So, as I hung up the petrol bowser pump, I felt a growing sense of elation as I realised what I was doing and the satisfaction of 'living my values'. This is important to my sense of identity: a person and practitioner talking about change for sustainability in organisations. Our solar panels will charge the car and help us function when the power goes out in the main grid. We are becoming more self-sufficient energy-wise. True on one level and more complex on another.
I become less proud if I think a little about who can and who can't afford such privileges. If I try to calculate the energy and materials that went into producing the car, panels, etc., I also shudder a bit. It is but a beginning.
So, as we change our thinking and subsequent behaviour, our personal sense of identity is a strong influence, and it's mixed up with a spiralling process weighing up the pros and cons as we gradually make a decision.
Time
Have you noticed how much time it takes to move through a substantial change? I think I began contemplating purchasing an EV about 12 months ago when I noticed that my current vehicle was getting older and I needed reliable work transport.
Contemplating and researching
I started researching how much one would cost and what I might save on the other side of the ledger. It was hard to make progress. I had resistance around the upfront purchase price; or, to put it another way, I was concerned I would lose more than I would gain. Then I discovered the Good Car Company, a social enterprise that imports second-hand EVs from other countries to sell in Australia. To help, they have developed a calculator to work out the cost Vs gain equation. That helped a lot - I had learned that I could drive almost for free for the first 3 years if I was careful to take advantage of some government subsidies and charge my car at the right time. Progress made.
Social peers
I talked a lot to friends - none of whom have made the move. There was not much encouragement from my social network of peers, which is often a strong source of motivation for change.
During January this year, I had time to return to the question. I saw an online post by a colleague in Sydney who had just purchased a new EV. This spurred me on once again. (A small lesson in 'you never know the influence you are having'.)
Moving beyond desktop research to trying out
I returned to my previous behaviour of research and decided there was no harm in a test drive. I took the next step. It was fun trying out new cars.... not so much fun contemplating the cost!
I stepped back again; the first test drive had not revealed the car of my dreams. There were features I didn't like. And I do like a car that is a bit sporty and different. This one wasn't quite me (enter the sense of identity again).
I read more car reviews and found another model that may suit me. Another test drive and I was sold. The salesperson at this dealer spent a lot of time with us and showed me not all (so as to not overwhelm me), but many features. I had a chance to drive the car in my home territory of the hills (very different to driving in the city).
A bit of negotiating and here I am. New car this Saturday! Once I have that, it will be easier to live a lower-carbon lifestyle. This will be a structural change that helps me.
The process I have outlined is very similar to a change model often employed in health systems. It is called Prochaska and DiClemente’s stages of change theory. Read more here in Wikipedia if you're interested.
I always employ a living system and adaptive lens for my change work, so I appreciate the process I went through as an adaptive change. One that required me to reprioritise values (Carbon emissions/sustainability and Money) and eventually come to a new sense of what is most important, leading to a decision, over time.
Leading Change at Work
So, I am wondering, what experiences of change have you had recently? What have you learned from them? How can you apply the lessons, particularly around the time it takes, at work?
It is so easy for us to take time ourselves to come to a decision but expect others to respond immediately. Changing... takes time.
Do you know someone who might appreciate a continuing exploration of changing through the lens of our everyday lives and the news of the day? Please share!