Habits

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Study Skill 5.5 Habits

  

Introduction

Sean Covey, renowned author of a series of books on habits, says, “We become what we repeatedly do.” It’s true! Our habits are a collection of actions that have become ingrained in who we are and the way we approach our lives. Each of us has habits that are awesome and help us attack the challenges we face in life every day. However, we also have habits that could be changed in a way to make us more effective and happy. The good news is once we understand the habit cycle, we can take control; we can create, continue, or change our habits to be and feel our best!

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Key Ideas

  • Habits are learned and we can take control of our habits.
  • Highly effective teens are proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek first to understand and then to be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw.
  • The habit cycle is cue -> behavior -> reward.
  • We can change and form new habits by understanding our cues and our rewards.

Apply

  • Identify your habits. Form a list of three good habits you have and three bad habits you have. Try to identify your cues, behaviors, and rewards that are reinforcing these habits.
  • Think about the seven habits that Covey identifies for successful teens. What is one you have? How? What is one you’d like to develop? What change could you make this week to do so?
  • Pick one habit you’d like to start or change: Use the flowcharts above to design a plan to make this change.
  • Think about one of your heroes or role models. Why do you admire them? What’s a habit they have that you’d like to emulate? Why and how do you think their habit works (cue-behavior-reward)? What cue and reward can you try to form this habit for yourself?