My name is April Coan, and I am an academic success coach and the assistant director at the Office of Undergraduate Student Success. Throughout the fall semester, I will offer tips and suggestions in The Current, which will focus on topics like success in college and taking advantage of the unique opportunities available at NSU.
We’ve all heard the saying “It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.” Well, the same philosophy can be applied to human beings. Many people are set in their ways and habits. Sometimes these habits can have a positive impact on your life, but sometimes they can be negative. With that said, the trick to obtaining your long-term goals and fulfilling your dreams is to encourage positive habits and rid yourself of negative ones.
Well, you might ask, “How do I do that?” Luckily, there has been a lot of research on the subject of forming positive habits and behaviors. In fact, there’s a behavior model formula, published by Dr. Fogg from Stanford University, which can help you determine how to change your behaviors. Quite simply, the magic formula for changing habits and behaviors is B = MAT, or behavior equals motivation, ability and trigger at the same moment. Motivations are your personal goals and general desires. Ability can be defined as factors influencing or enhancing what you do, such as time, money and effort. Triggers are occurrences prompting you to change your behaviors. Triggers vary and can be either positive or negative. Examples of triggers are poor grades on a test or receiving praise for a project you completed in class. The main point of this formula is that all three factors (motivation, ability and trigger) must be present in order for you to create change within yourself.
If you analyze this formula, you’ll recognize that changing behaviors and building positive habits starts with motivation. You need to be motivated to change your behaviors; if not, chances are it’ll be tougher to get rid of bad habits, like smoking or procrastinating, and build good ones, like going to the gym or completing your homework on time.
Since the key to building positive behaviors and fulfilling your personal goals is motivation, next time you’re trying to change your habits to bring forth positive change, reflect on what’s motivating you to do something. As you’re reflecting, write down your motivations on a piece of paper, and put that piece of paper in a place that you will always see it. Chances are, when you look at that piece of paper every day and reflect on what’s really motivating you to succeed and create good habits, those reminders will propel you forward in creating positive change in your life and academics.
