The Power of Choice and Commitment

Can an alcoholic really quit drinking if the house is full of booze? Is it possible for an overweight person to lose weight if the cupboard is filled with Twinkies, chips, and soda? Maybe, but the odds are against success. And so, like the junkie who must quit heroin or die, I sold my car to drive no more. When I started the year without cars last July, I figured that I could park my car and just resist the temptation to use it except when absolutely necessary. But when the weather turned rough and the winter darkness took over both the sky and my mood, I couldn't resist the comfort of heat and separation from the elements. I used my bicycle very little from December through March. Yes, I was very busy with planning the New Jersey Bikes Summit and I needed to travel a lot, but the reality is I chose driving my car because it was easier. I can’t really say that I was forced to drive--I chose to. But now I am choosing to not drive and getting rid of my car is the best way for me to be able to stick to my choice. It feels good to be able to make this harder choice. Unlike my friend Javier, who rides to work everyday in every type of weather, I have a choice. Lot’s of people who say, “well, that’s good for you, but I have no choice” don’t realize that they do have a choice but won’t own up to it. If you choose to drive in a car, that’s fine. I guess my point is that people make up all kinds of rationalizations and excuses for their behavior without accepting responsibility for their choices.

Us humans have an amazing capacity for willful ignorance. I don’t think most people would say they don’t care about their health, or the environment, or the safety of their neighbors, but if you looked around how could you conclude that they did care? We continue to eat poorly, smoke, drink, waste resources, drive like idiots, poison our air and water, treat our neighbors with contempt and just generally make bad choices as though we were forced to do these things. We can get caught up in listening and reacting to one “expert” or another on just about any topic but at the end of the day I think most of us can judge good from bad, healthy from harmful, right action from wrong. But here we are, willfully ignoring that many of our choices will lead to results we know that we don't want. We know it ahead of time and we do it anyway and then act surprised when it happens. People dying in accidents involving drunk driving are a great example. You have a couple of drinks, you know your impaired, you get in your car and drive home anyway. Whoops, you killed someone on the way. Then you hire a lawyer to try and get you out of it because you don’t want to suffer the consequences of your choice.

My choice to ride my bike on the street presents a real possibility of injury or death as a result of my choice. The person who chooses to send a text message while driving might veer into the shoulder where I am riding and run me over. We will both have to accept the results of our choices.