iB-LIEVE: Goal setting for the scholar in you

Setting goals to change unwanted habits relies on our ability to learn new habits. In this blog, I’ll explain why I believe this, and then I’ll provide you with some helpful tips to break bad habits and make better ones.

Why do we set goals?

The simple answer: because we want to change something about ourselves. Think about it – we set goals to do more of certain things (workout harder, sleep more, study more), do less of others (eat less, complain less, spend less), do some things better (get better grades, look better, perform better), and so on. In most cases though, we want to change bad habits and form better ones. So, we set goals to change our habits.

CHANGE HAPPENS

While we may not notice it, we are constantly changing, and so is everything around us. Our bodies change, our minds change, our feelings change, our friends change, our societies change, the world changes. Just when we think that from one day to the next, we are the same, if we took a closer look in the mirror, we’d realize that we are changing quite a bit. The cells of our skin are completely replaced every two weeks. The cells in our brains even change. But our habits seem to remain the same, or at least difficult to change. If our brains can change, and our brains are responsible for carrying out our habits, then perhaps the key to breaking bad habits is to change our brains. But how?

LEARN A LIVING

Our brains change when we learn new things: new ways to think, feel, act, play music, play sports, speak, relate to others and so on. And as life scholars, we are always learning. In fact, like change, learning too always happens. Whatever information we feed to our brains, if we believe in it, we will learn and our brains will change. So, I believe that the key to changing bad habits is to learn better ones.

ADVICE FOR THE SCHOLAR IN YOU

Having taught students at the high school, collegiate, and graduate levels, I’ve picked up a few lessons on learning. Here’s some helpful tips:

You are what you eat. Feed your brain nutritious information to build stronger, healthier habits. Filling up on useless information will lead to useless habits.
Believe it to change it. Just exposing yourself to useful information won’t do the trick. You must believe that this information is truer and more valuable than what you currently have stored in your brain. In other words, until you’re convinced that you must replace your current habit with another, you won’t.
See the big picture. Here’s the big picture: You will make and break habits for the rest of your life. Get used to it. Be flexible. Go with the flow. With this perspective you’ll have an easier time changing a habit at one point in your life, only to change it again when you gain new perspective.
See the small picture. Change, however big or small, takes work. Be prepared. Researchers say that changing a habit takes 21 days of consistency. After this, a new habit is formed.