“Why bother. There’s nothing we can do.”

That’s what my highly educated coworker with two young children said when I told him about my neighborhood sustainability group and our activities. This position of resignation pains me deeply because it is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The Transition Town movement is about choosing to act now in a planful, mindful (and even joyful and playful) manner, rather than waiting to react later when faced with the most painful circumstances. The Transition movement is the antithesis of resignation and helplessness. It presents a kind-of hope when facing a set of facts that can seem hopeless.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy to act, especially here in the U.S. where the weight of a culture of consumption and selfishness is enforced at every turn by businesses, politicians, media, and even families and some churches.

Because of this pressure to conform, the question of how to stay motivated for small and large personal change is always high in my mind. How do I stay the course on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis? Especially when we “don’t have to change yet,” but are instead choosing to be proactive? I believe there are a few things that can and will help me.

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