Use the Power of Suggestion to Encourage Others to Go Green
Do you try to live in an environmentally conscious way?
Do you want to encourage others to do the same – but don’t want to nag them?
Do you want to get the message out to a lot of people to recycle– without having to do any public speaking?
Then use the power of suggestion to encourage others to go green!
What is the Power of Suggestion?
According to psychologists, the power of suggestion is when the actions or statements of one person can guide or influence the thoughts or actions of another person.
Let’s take, for example, a common email tagline: “Please be kind to the environment – only print this email if necessary.”
If you have received an email from someone with this tagline, and then decided not to print a copy of the email, you have experienced the power of suggestion.
How Can I Use The Power of Suggestion?
So how can you use the power of suggestion to encourage others to be environmentally friendly? Here’s my easy 3-step process:
Step 1: Consider how items get used in your home and workplace
Are there any things that can be people can reuse, recycle, or reduce their consumption of without excessive effort? For example
- Paper and aluminum cans that are getting thrown away which could be recycled?
- Or lights that are constantly left on when people leave the room which could get turned off?
These are good things to tackle.
Step 2: Decide what Action you want
Figure out what action you want to suggest to people – and how to suggest the action to them.
If, for example, you want to get people to recycle paper that is ending up in the trash can, figure out which trash cans get used for paper the most.
See if there would be space to place a recycling bin next to the existing trash can, and if it would be possible to place a sign on the trash can that says “Please recycle paper” with an arrow pointing to the recycling bin.
If you are trying to do this in your workplace make sure to get necessary permission and find out if other departments, such as maintenance or cleaning, can help you with the project.
Step 3: Give it a try
Place the suggestion sign and option you have created and see how well it works. Depending on your household or workplace it may take a few tries to find the best location and approach.
Once it begins working, consider telling others about what you did so that they can attempt something similar in their home or workplace (and tell us about it in the Comments below).
My Personal Experience
What personal experience do I draw from? I learned this about a year ago with my family.
My family is very good about recycling cardboard, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles. However, at that time, we were not very good about recycling paper.
I thought about this and decided to try to change the situation.
I took an unused cardboard box about the same dimensions as a small trash can and put a sign on it that said “Please deposit paper to be recycled.” I then placed this box next to the trash can in the office.
Within a few days I noticed less paper in the garbage and more in the recycling bin.
After a few weeks I noticed there was almost no paper in the trash can and the recycling bin had to be emptied about once every two weeks.
Best of all, this was accomplished without nagging family members about recycling! And it took almost no effort!
Just Do It!
Please try using the power of suggestion in your home and workplace to encourage others to be green. Then please add your successes, suggestions, or comments in the comment section below. Have a great day!
This is a Guest Post by Logan Dodson. Logan studies Biology and Psychology at Stetson University. Outside of classes he works hard to encourage others to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle by running a low-cost campus bicycle repair shop, helping lead the Stetson University Environmental Club, and bicycling everywhere (he does not own an automobile).
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