Wishes

Today I will share a hope of mine with you, and tell you about a personal failing.

I would like to get away from being dependent on a vehicle.  I would love to have just one car in our family.  We hope that is what we can do in retirement.  For a long time I have felt pulled between who I am and who I want to be.

I would like to stop using the car capriciously for health reasons.  I want to be more reliant on my own two legs, or a bicycle.  This would make an impact on my well-being - cardiovascular benefits especially.

I also would like to be a better steward of my resources for the sake of the environment.  My car at this time is not a hybrid.  It is very attractive still, being a paid-for vehicle, and it gets over 40 mpg on the highways. However, I am still wanting to lessen my footprint more.

Even with all this roaming around in my head, I use the car a freakish amount for small runs.  I am embarrassed that I will use the car to go less than 2 miles for an errand.  I can do better.  I want to do better.

I am great with excuses.  Weather is often one - too hot, too cold, it's rainy.  Time is another - "I can make the run in 5 minutes with the car" sort of thing.  Sometimes I feel under equipped - I don't have a trailer to make a big grocery haul.  But in the end, I make a choice.  It is a choice that does not satisfy me.

I am reading Failing Forward by John Maxwell at the moment.  He talks about a failure freeway - a path that traps people into failure.  One way to get off the failure freeway is to take responsibility for your actions.

I am going to practice my own advice and Mr. Maxwell's advice and accept responsibility and start with a small change.  I am going to change one thing - I will eradicate excuses as to why I don't pick up lunch by bicycle.  I will buy a bungee cord, so I can strap the carry-out to my bike.  I will let you know how it is going in a few weeks.

There was a time when we were a one-car family.  You can read about it here in my first book, Minimize:  Kill your debt.  Live your dream.  That book was written when we were pushing hard to become debt-free.  We accepted responsibility for our financial situation (debt), and we changed it with wisdom from God and his blessing.

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