I’m always surprised how, after a week in a manual rental car, stalling, grinding and only realising ten minutes down the motorway I’m still in third, that I come home to find my foot reaching for the clutch at every intersection and putting the windshield wipers on whenever I want to indicate!

Am I dismayed how slow I can be to adapt? Or impressed at how strongly our changes take hold when we make them?

This morning felt rather like a crunching gearbox, transitioning back to school runs, lunch boxes and uniforms after the break. And, perhaps because of the shifting seasons, I’ve found myself making a number of changes lately:

I finally replaced my phone. After a dip or two in a puddle, it no longer even rang.

The charming young salesman talked me into a smart Android model instead of the “fruit brand” version I’m used to. He extolled its virtues (most of which was Greek to my technologically challenged ears) but cinched it with, “You can even flush this one down the toilet and buy a new one for the price of a single ‘Golden Delicious’ alternative’.” Sold! The price to pay though came in trying to figure out how to use the darned thing.

It turns out those fruit phones are designed for dummies. Can I admit a spade’s a spade? I was torn when this cool 14-year-old said my phone was, “awesome”. “Yay! I’m down with the kids,” I thought. Then I realised just thinking that means I’m definitely not, especially as I can’t even make a call on that “awesome” phone.

Alan Deutschman, in his book Change or Die: The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life, suggests that to shift gears for lasting change we need to:

1. Relate

Find someone we admire to emulate who has already made this change

2. Repeat

Practise “driving that car” every day

3. Reframe

Identify ourselves with the new change. In my case: “I am a cool, tech-savvy, Android user.”

I could follow Deutschman’s three R’s of change to get me using my new phone: get some hip kid to teach me how — repeatedly — and consider myself a tech-whizz. Or I could choose to spend that time and energy on something I value considerably more.

My latest beef is the scourge that is disposable plastic: picking armfuls of it from our beaches daily, seeing footage of trash vortexes in oceans, clogged landfills, plastic manufacturing and combustion pollution.

So this spring I’ve decided to shift gears to becoming a more mindful consumer — refusing plastic bags and cutlery; choosing biodegradable products whenever possible; even supplying my own containers for takeout. Yes, I want to be that person. This is where I will apply Deutschman’s R’s to adapt.

What transitions do you want to make this spring? How will you make your changes? And do you know anyone who wants to buy a phone?

Julia Pitt is a trained success coach and certified NLP practitioner on the team at Benedict Associates. For further information contact Julia on 705-7488, www.juliapittcoaching.com.