Ep 46 – How to Change Habits and Behavior
| By Jessica Miller-Merrell | Go Podcast
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Here are today’s HR and workplace news headlines from Workology Go Podcast. I’m Jessica Miller-Merrell. The Workology Go Podcast is sponsored by Workology.
Ep 46 – How to Change Habits and Behavior
This year has really been one that I’ve been focused on personal transformation and behavior change. There are a number of things that have helped me a lot. One of those has been personal affirmations. I have a whole host of affirmations I say to myself. In fact, one right now I’ve been focusing on is, “I love and accept me exactly as I am.”
While affirmations might not be your thing, there are a whole host of technologies and tools, books, and other resources to help you in your personal and professional growth.
One area that I’ve been enjoying learning about is called nudge psychology. Nudge psychology uses technology and notes, affirmations, and other things to send a gentle reminder for you to make a good decision. For example, my iWatch reminds me to stand up if I’ve been sitting too long. You might also use your calendar this way to remind you to go to the gym, or you use an affirmation to help lessen or eliminate negative self-talk.
Today’s featured article comes from Psychology Today and is titled, “”Nudge” Your Way to Better Choices.”
A book I’m really enjoying right now is called Psychological Triggers. Written by Peter Hollins, it helps you understand the triggers that lead you towards decisions and patterns of behavior that are negative, bad, or you want to just change. A psychological trigger is something that causes us to act out of urgency – not correctness or even happiness. It’s a switch that is flipped outside of our consciousness.
The author works with executives and business leaders on how to identify and change behaviors taking into account that while we want to change our behaviors it is often our environment and that influences our own decisions even the ones we really don’t want to make.
Now, I’m not a psychologist or an expert. I’m just someone who is focused on behavioral change and personal growth so I’m soaking up everything I can on the topic. I like this book a lot because he talks about identifying environments or situations which are triggers that lead you to make poor decisions.
For example, this week I came to my office and I had a small confrontation with someone. It was over Slack and text message which is really hard because you can’t see body language or listen to their voice to understand intent. I read the words and it made me angry, upset, and stressed. I spent about an hour researching to understand what went wrong and how to fix. Before I knew it I was walking to the vending machine to buy me a candy bar. I was trying to eat away my stress.
What’s funny is the behavioral change I’m working on right now isn’t necessarily food-related. It’s about me eliminating that negative self-talk and feeling more confident and comfortable in my skin. What was interesting is that I recognized that this stress led me down a path to do something that I normally wouldn’t do.
Right now I’m working on being more aware instead of operating on that autopilot. I’m trying to be more intentional and I think that’s the important part of the personal development and growth journey.
I’ll link to Peter’s book along with another book I recently read while on my trip to South Africa called You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.
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And that’s this episode of the Workology Go Podcast sponsored by Workology. We’re your go to for HR and workplace news. To learn more about the Workology Go Podcast, subscribe to us on Apple, Google, and Stitcher. Our podcast is also available on Alexa and Google Home. Learn more at workology.com/gopodcast and access this episode’s resources, links, and reports for more information.
Featured Story
“Nudge” Your Way to Better Choices.
More Great Resource
– Ep 17 – When Procrastination Is Really Anxiety
– Finding Inspiration: 19 Affirmations for HR and Workplace Leaders
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