What if change was seen not as a series of sacrifices but as an exercise in pleasure seeking and more fun, joy, and happiness?

We live in a world where normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job, you need to pay for the clothes, and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it (Ellen Goodman). At the same time politicians, policymakers, and urban planners are faced with unchartered and unprecedented challenges; climate change, reducing transport-related carbon emissions and net zero.

The 2003 – 2009 south-east Queensland drought saw tens of thousands of Brisbane households make significant changes to their water use and consumption. Some behavioural changes were the result of legislated water restrictions, other because of local government issuing rainwater tank rebates to over 21,000 households to increase water storage and some the outcome of large-scale area wide personalised behaviour change programs.

One of the main findings from the BMW Guggenheim Lab ‘Confronting Comfort’ public programmes in Berlin in 2012 was that we need to learn how to do things differently when we have the space and time because we won’t have time to learn when we are in the middle of a social, economic, health, financial, or environmental crisis.

In 2017 Australia’s two largest supermarket chains announced their plans to phase-out and then ban single-use plastic shopping bags. The initiative was a disaster evoking thousands of complaints, and negative media coverage. Analysts cited a disconnect between different attitudes and behaviours and concluded that consumers don’t like change, effort, or inconvenience.

Behaviour change programs aren’t working. Moreover, they had little or limited sustained change and weren’t working at the rate of change required by Councils and Governments.

My 2020/21 research concluded that we only really change our behaviours when we have a compelling reason, a strong motive, and a burning desire. In a nutshell, when it’s personal, urgent, and we care enough. And, when we draw a line in the sand, our personal ‘Defining Moment’ and make a choice – whether it’s driving a car in peak-hour traffic, debt, diet, or divorce – and finally say “I’ve had enough”.

In the UK, as an example, the Government has 7 years to hit their target of 50% of all local trips on foot or by bike, and significantly reduce carbon emissions and around 25 years to achieve net zero. Governments, Councils, businesses, and transit operators are asking “What can we do to get people to change their behaviours?”

What if change was seen not as a series of sacrifices but as an exercise in pleasure seeking and more fun, joy and happiness? What if behaviour change was built around compelling reasons, strong motives, and burning desires?

In 2002 walking to school increased from 38% of all trips to 92% at selected Cornwall (UK) primary schools in Cornwall, UK. In real terms that resulted in the removal of more than 200 cars from the streets around each school. The change was not achieved because parents wanted to cut traffic congestion, improve road safety or to reduce sedentary lifestyles. The parents, predominately the military-base mothers, had a compelling reason to walk their children to school – a burning desire for friendships. The Newquay Military Mum’s exceeded Council’s Local Transport Plan targets because they had a strong motive to make friends in Newquay, a transitional community, dominated by both the garrison and seasonal tourism.

In February 2006 Chef Peter Fraser owner of award-winning fish & chip shop Harbour Lights in Falmouth (UK) made a commitment to serve only proven sustainably sourced fish. In November 2011 Peter sent ‘Cod on Holiday’. Peter ran a very successful Cod Free week by taking his best-selling fish off the menu. It was perceived that Peter was committing financial suicide but in fact he made new friends, with the warmest reactions from young people – decision-makers of the future and sales increased by 30%. Peter, passionate about conserving cod supplies, persuaded his customers – old and new – to try other fish species rather than always eating cod as a fun experiment and pleasure, not a sacrifice.

In 2010, with Amy Grey, I co-founded Lazy Sunday Cycle. They had a shared vision: to create an opportunity for normal people in normal clothes on normal bicycles to be able to ride bicycles for fun. There was a ‘gap’ in the Brisbane and Australian market; that is, there were no groups or activities for beginner, less experienced, young, older, and non-lycra dressed cyclists.

On the first Sunday of each month a Lazy Sunday Cycle bicycle ride was hosted. Each event started at either a train station or ferry terminal so that people could travel to the meeting point by public transport, was typically 12 kilometres in length with a coffee stop mid-way and a picnic lunch at the end. With more than 1,000 followers and more than 40 people at each event success was attributed to the picnic and BBQ lunches. People came, they cycled, they ate, and they made friends. People didn’t join to ride their bike – they joined to make new friends because we all crave human connections and have a burning desire for friendships.

Change is complex. Ambitious climate change, carbon reduction and net zero targets won’t be achieved by simply posting information brochures into people’s letterboxes, plonking more bike share schemes across our cities or politicians shouting about how the mases should and shouldn’t travel. But, when people have a compelling reason, a strong motive, and a burning desire – when it’s personal, urgent, and they care enough, and when it’ s fun, joyous and brings them happiness – pleasure-seeking not a series of sacrifices – people, young and old, will change their habits, and their behaviours.