Small Changes Big Effects

Small changes big effects. Big thinkers might say, “If you say small changes create big effects, you’re not thinking big enough.” This is not the case. We define big effects. And if what we change positively affects more than one situation, then our small change has created a big effect.

We can list many differences between people living in small cities and big cities. While people in big cities live a more hectic life, people in small cities may live a more peaceful life without the hustle and bustle. The stressful life lived in big cities with the rush has recently started to lead people to dream of settling in small cities.* I think there are many reasons for this, and the part that interests me the most is consumption.

Consumer culture does not only reflect a physical give-and-take relationship. The consumer culture, which is growing every day, tells us that it is always possible to replace what we have with something new and better. Now let’s think about it this way: if a habit of ours tells us something, don’t we apply it psychologically to other things without realizing it? For example, a study conducted at Marmara University examined the relationship between popular culture and consumer culture and revealed how consumer culture shapes individuals’ tastes and preferences. This study shows how consumption habits are intertwined with individuals’ search for social identity and status.*

I am Nil, an eco-entrepreneur and a nature enthusiast. I have always lived the habits of consuming less and being thrifty for as long as I can remember. The main reason for this was that my family migrated from a small city to a big city before I was born. Since it is not possible for people’s habits to change quickly, I saw and learned from them while they adapted to the big city. Of course, this is an adaptation process, in other words, while they were thrifty, they adapted to the big city even more over time. I also acquired new habits and learned new things in places like school, my circle of friends, and my work environment. This learning and living in a big city brought consumption into my life.

Humankind has spent most of its history living in harmony with nature.* This adaptation to nature was not such a difficult thing for people. If they had an animal, they would give their food waste to it, or if they didn't, to their neighbor's animal. Since they didn't have one time use products, their other waste would almost never come out. For example, before one time use feminine pads, women would use cloth, wash it with their hands and use it over and over again. But now, we, individuals carrying the same genes, can't stand our waste food, want to get rid of it right away and have difficulty even touching the dirty state of our disposable products and throw it in the trash.

A system emerged and was shaped according to people's needs. People no longer had to spend time and effort to meet their own simple needs. This system changed our habits and, as a result, us. We became insatiable people who tried to have everything they saw in others and constantly consumed. People quickly consumed their happy moments, used a product they bought for a few days and immediately got bored. Because they could always have something better quickly. The only thing they couldn't have was permanent pleasures. Because such a thing was no longer possible. It had to change the whole system of thinking.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my article, this is an adaptation process. Just as we adapted to consumption, we can adapt in time in the opposite way. In order to inspire, I will tell you about the big effects of small changes I made in my own life and I will talk about my own adaptation process to responsible consumption.

Small Changes Big Effects

Small changes create big effects. So how? My story starts with my startup Reppatch. For as long as I can remember, I would cut, sew and reuse my old clothes. However, I learned much later that this application I made was upcycling. In fact, as I discovered this very valuable application that focuses on craftsmanship, I founded Reppatch in order to tell the world about this forgotten value. I am talking about Reppatch because every day I try to develop this business, I gain new information. About sustainability, reuse, the problems that nature is currently facing…

It is inevitable for a person to apply what they have learned to their own lives after learning. Especially if you are doing your job wholeheartedly… My small changes that create a big impact started with my routines. Instead of saying, “Am I going to save the world?”, when I asked myself what my impact was and what I could do, I came across many more things I could do in addition to my initiative. At the beginning of my article, I said the following about small changes creating big effects: “If what we change positively affects more than one situation, then our small change has created a big impact.”

Now, let's discover together what impact a change has had, starting with my daily routine.

I prepare my almond milk coffee with a moka pot in the mornings. I make this almond milk myself at home weekly with an incredibly simple application. I use the almond residue left while making almond milk as flour. What does making almond milk affect instead of buying it from the market? First, it causes something I consume every day to be additive-free and healthier. Second, I also obtain flour from the application I make to obtain milk with a completely zero-waste production process. I have my breakfasts with boiled eggs. I collect the water I boil the egg in every day and water my plants with this water. What does this application affect? ​​While it helps me save water, it also affects me to live a life full of lush, quality plants since I regularly give my plants vitamin water.

Another routine of mine is lighting a candle at home every evening. When the wick runs out, I collect all my candles that are no longer burning but have wax left at the bottom and use them to make new candles at home. This practice both reduces my regular candle shopping and supports the circular economy of our home by upcycling waste. Without further ado, I will give you one last example. We have been separating our waste regularly at home for the last year. Every week, I throw the waste we separate into municipal containers and leave the paper waste in the garden of a local waste collector family. This routine of mine also reduces our household waste, contributes to recycling and contributes to a family's income.

"The greatest danger to our future is apathy. We can't all save the world in a dramatic way, but we can each make our small difference, and together those small differences add up. Every single person makes an impact on the planet every single day. The question is: What kind of impact do you want to make?" - Jane Godall*

Isn't it very simple? As humans, we are all responsible for ourselves first. If we want to change anything, we need to start with ourselves. If I said, "What will these habits of mine affect?", I wouldn't have such magnificent plants in my home. The happiness of this is priceless. The extra effort we have to spend is nothing compared to its effect. So how will these effects grow? My circle, who sees my application, also starts to learn and apply it over time. As a result, my small change creates a big effect. Me and my circle use resources more sustainably. This is the simplest application of coping with global warming and living in harmony with nature. It starts with individuals, spreads to communities and the effect grows every day.

At the end of my article, there is a subject I want to talk about, the psychological effect of these changes. I said that the consumer culture places the idea that it can always have what it defines as better in the human mind, causing it to say goodbye to permanent pleasures. A person who moves away from the consumer culture is on the way to reaching permanent pleasures. We can understand the value of the moments we live more. Because the human brain applies its habits in any area to other areas. A person who tries to gradually reduce her consumption and get the maximum efficiency from what she has starts to approach the moments she lives and the beautiful feelings she feels in the same way. She tries to get the maximum efficiency from her happiness and unhappiness. While maximum efficiency from unhappiness leads to maximum learning, maximum efficiency from happiness brings our pleasures closer to being permanent.

We are people with different types of creativity. Regular behaviors that we apply by learning from each other will cause new and different new behavior patterns in everyone. I can imagine a world where every individual lives like this, a world that breathes with happiness. Like a stone thrown into a lake, every step we take will spread in waves throughout the world.