How to build good habits
A CLC Connects Podcast
In this episode of CLC Connects, host Jessey Prugh sits down with Academic Success Instructor Jay Wiltshire and Psychology Instructor Brent Steffens to discuss building and maintaining healthy habits.
Jay and Brent emphasize the importance of understanding the psychology behind habits, identifying which habits to keep, and employing practical strategies for reinforcement.
If you want to learn more from Jay and Brent, check out their radio show, The Ball is in Your Court.
Listen to CLC Connects on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Transcript
This following podcast transcript was generated with help from artificial intelligence.
Jessey Prugh: Welcome to CLC Connects, the podcast that connects you with College of Lake County experts. This is our first episode of Season Four. If you're a new listener, welcome! Get ready to learn all sorts of new insights from CLC experts. Past episodes have included recipes from our chefs, gardening tips from our horticulture department, and ways to keep you safe online from our cybersecurity experts. If you've tuned in before, welcome back! Season Four has a lot of great expert guests in store for you.
For our first episode, we have two CLC faculty members, Jay Wiltshire and Brent Steffens. We're talking about breaking, creating, and keeping good habits. If their voices sound familiar, it’s because they also host their own radio show, The Ball Is in Your Court. Catch them on Lancer Radio or wherever you get your podcasts. Jay and Brent, welcome to CLC Connects.
Jay Wiltshire: It’s good to be here.
Brent Steffens: Thank you for having us.
Jessey: Today, we're going to talk about building good and successful habits to make you a stronger student, employee and community member. No matter where you are in life, these habits can really apply to you. So, the first thing I want to ask is: What habits do you think people should have that are really important for success, no matter where they are in life?
Jay: One of the things we should share with the audience is that the discussion is based on both the psychology of the mind and practical applications. When you ask a question like that, the first thing is: What habits do you want to keep? Once you have identified a habit you want to keep, you have to talk about practicing, rehearsing, and researching. We discussed best practices for writing, memorizing and note-taking because these methods help you rehearse and get better, ultimately forming those habits. What you learn is not just what you apply in the classroom but also in real life, which helps with retention.
Jessey: Absolutely.
Brent: And the same applies to psychology. Having a good appreciation for the mind and how it works is crucial. We’ve talked about attention before. When you start to respect how your mind functions, you can approach learning more efficiently by considering the best ways to process and handle information.
Jessey: Can you give an example?
Jay: Sure! Jessey, have you ever ridden a bike?
Jessey: Yeah.
Jay: When did you learn to ride? Probably when you were young, right?
Jessey: My mom taught me. She put me on the bike and pushed me away.
Jay: And how long did you use training wheels?
Jessey: For a while, yeah.
Jay: What you just described is a series of learning strategies in place to support you. You had the bicycle and the ambition to ride it, whether it was you or your mom who wanted you to ride. There’s a practice you have to implement to learn how to ride, and the training wheels served as your support system. Eventually, when you were ready, they were removed. So now, if I were to give you a bike, would you be able to ride it?
Jessey: Sure!
Jay: This illustrates short-term and long-term memory and the practices you’ve learned. Do you know the best way to teach someone how to ride a bike?
Jessey: Put them on a bike and push them?
Jay: That might work in some situations! But think about the two mental skills involved: balancing and pedaling. You’re trying to teach two skills at once, which is why it can be challenging. The best approach is to take off the pedals.
Jessey: Oh yeah, I’ve seen those balance bikes, and I wondered why they exist.
Jay: By removing the pedals, you teach the child to balance first. Once they can balance, then you introduce pedaling. The challenge with teaching without this technique is that you force a child to master both skills at the same time.
Brent: Yes, that’s an example of proximal learning. You need to start from where the learner is at and build from there. You have to create attainable goals. Learning is an incremental process, not something you can just do in one go.
Jay: When you break it down and achieve success, it builds confidence, leading to long-term memory because you’re drawing from what you’ve learned.
Brent: There’s a lot of desirable difficulty involved. A challenge can entice you and lead to satisfaction and self-efficacy.
Jessey: Let’s talk about breaking bad habits. If I'm a student in a Spanish class and I know I need to do my readings but I'm too shy, how do I break that bad habit and turn it into a good one?
Jay: First, you have to acknowledge the bad habit and then come up with a plan. But the plan isn’t enough; you need a strategy. In our courses, we discuss resources available on campus and how to approach professors to address barriers. Acknowledging that you have a barrier is key.
Brent: Yes, it’s about making those habits salient. You have to catch the thought when it happens so that you can make a conscious decision to change it. If you operate on autopilot, it can lead to mindless behavior, like overeating.
Jay: Also, sometimes behaviors change based on rewards or consequences. If you realize your GPA is affected by being late, that can serve as a motivating factor to change your habits.
Jessey: So, I’ve got some good tools for breaking bad habits. Now, how do I turn those into positive habits?
Jay: We talked earlier about how traumatic events and gratification can solidify behaviors. If, by making changes, you receive positive feedback—like praise from your boss or even a raise—this provides motivation to continue those behaviors.
Brent: Yes, rewards are crucial, but they can be subjective. What’s rewarding for one person may not be for another.
Jay: Exactly. Rewards can also be self-imposed. For example, you might say, “I’ve been on time for four days straight, so I’m going to treat myself to something special.” This way, you set up internal rewards.
Brent: It's important that the reward is significant enough to encourage you. If your reward isn’t compelling, you may find it easy to slip back into old habits.
Jessey: So, I might need to adjust my rewards over time, especially if the initial ones become less motivating as they become expected.
Jay: Absolutely! Human behavior is complex and constantly changing. You might find that what worked initially may not work as well later on.
Brent: It’s essential to revisit and analyze your habits and processes. Habit building and learning are iterative processes. Assuming you can just establish a habit once isn’t realistic.
Jessey: Are there any common habits that you see in successful people?
Jay: Some behaviors I’ve observed in successful individuals include being very organized. For instance, if I can’t find my car keys, I know they must be in one of three places. If they’re not there, someone has moved them!
Brent: Self-reflection is also crucial. Successful people evaluate their processes and are open to improvements. They assess whether their approach is efficient and effective, which leads to better outcomes.
Jessey: It seems these two traits are connected. Being organized saves time and allows for more thoughtful reflection.
Jay: Exactly! When you're organized, you know where to find what you need, making it easier to reflect and improve your processes.
Jessey: Lastly, can both of you share a habit you've tried to create and how it changed your life?
Jay: I’ve learned to let go. I used to have a habit of wanting everything in order, but I've had to accept that not everyone sees a clean room the same way. I've learned to let go of that need for control.
Jessey: That sounds like a great balance between organization and self-reflection.
Brent: For me, it’s about slowing down and taking a step back. In a fast-paced environment, it’s easy to operate on autopilot. I’ve found that pausing to reflect leads to better thinking and clearer ideas.
Jessey: I used to keep my phone in my bedroom, which led to late nights scrolling. To break that habit, I moved my charger downstairs. Now, if I want to use my phone at night, I have to make it inconvenient.
Jay: That's an effective strategy! It creates a consequence for that behavior, encouraging a change.
Jessey: Thank you both for joining me today! If you want to catch Jay and Brent’s show, The Ball is in Your Court, it’s full of tips for success and self-improvement. You can listen to it every third Friday on Lancer Radio.
Brent: Thank you!
Jay: Thank you so much!
Jessey: Bye!