Why I am interested in behavior change.
A Little Background
In college I studied the behavior patterns of people in groups through the discipline of Sociology. After graduation I found myself working with children of all ages providing various levels of behavior training and interventions (for more on my background read my About page). Years later I am still working with children to help them improve their social interactions and behaviors.
Lately, however, I’m not just working with children on their behaviors. I am working on my own behaviors as well. In 2017 I went through Michael Hyatt’s goal setting course for the first time. Through this course I realized the importance of not only setting goals for my life, but also for focused behavior change to help me make progress towards my goals.
Where I Am Now
In my recent career pivot into the world of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), I have learned the principles of behavior and behavior change. With the goal setting course to guide my yearly planning and a job that is focused on behavior training, I am now more aware of the effects of intentional growth versus learned behaviors.
I started this blog to reach out to others that might be where I was before my goal setting journey – stuck and discouraged. I hope I can also be a motivation to folks that want more understanding of how our behavior impacts our situation.
My Why
Last week’s post mentioned the importance of giving yourself time to understand the why when you are pursuing a goal. The why is the deeper reason that you are facing this goal or overcoming your fear to do something big.
As I am encouraging you all to dig deep into why you want to change, I wanted to explain to you why I care so much about behavior change:
Our behavior has a big impact on our life. As mentioned in the post, Why is Behavior Change Important for Personal Growth?, our behaviors can propel us forward or keep us stuck and without momentum. There is another piece though. Our behavior in one area of our life impacts our behavior in other areas.
Once I became aware of the first behavior that I wanted to change, it wasn’t long before I found another area that I wanted to change. If you go with the momentum you can make big changes that impact your life in big ways, one step – one behavior change – at a time. I am seeing it happen in my own life.
It is a science I understand. I will never forget the day in high school that my AP Physics teacher looked up at my best friend and I, we were bemused and probably also laughing and somewhat off task, and he sighed and shook his head. He had just tried to explain and show us a cool physics thing and we didn’t get it.
Behavior is not that for me. It grabs my attention and makes me want to understand. I enjoy learning evidence based practices for personal growth that have an impact on behavior. I am also seeking out ways to learn how to use the science of behavior and the principals of learning with adults on the job.
The focus on behavior has been in my path for a long time-maybe that means I have been heading in the right direction, despite being and feeling stuck for so long!
That’s it! I hope that list helps you understand some of why I created this blog. I hope we can join together in this behavior change journey!
Before you go…Which category do you see yourself in?
A) I feel stuck and/or discouraged in the direction of my life.
B) I’m wondering how my behavior affects my current situation.
c) I’m here for something different.
Put A, B, or C in the comments section. If it’s C, tell me what it is you’re here for.
One behavior change at a time.
