Well, hello there and welcome back. My name is Stephanie Safarian and you are listening to episode 154 of the Sustainable Minimalists podcast.

It is just about that time of year again where we start looking ahead to the new year.

If you are like me, you may have found yourself thinking about the goals you'd like to accomplish in 2021 recently.

Enter your New Year's Resolution.

Now, I love resolutions.

January 1st is the perfect time

to hone in on your goals and start fresh, right? But New Year's resolutions tend to be self-serving, don't they?

Lose five pounds, eat more vegetables, go to bed earlier. Humans as a species tend to be centered around

the self and so it's no surprise then that in December when we're planning our resolution for

January, we often choose one that benefits the individual.

My guest today argues that perhaps the reason why resolutions are notorious for failure

is because we tend to be too self-centered when we choose our resolution. He argues too that perhaps 2021

could be the year where we try something different by choosing a New Year's

resolution that benefits the collective.

Now my resolution for 2021 is to crack down on my trash production

when I'm out of the home once and for all. I am pretty darn good at not using a lot of

plastic and not creating a lot of waste at home, but all my efforts tend to fly out

the window when I'm running errands or when I'm on vacation,

and that's because I'm not around the low-way systems that I have set up in my house.

It's so common for me, it's more common than I even want to admit on this

podcast, but it is common for me to forget to bring enough water, so I have to stop

and buy water in a plastic bottle, or I didn't bring enough snacks for my kids so I have to stop and get a

...