Make Positive Changes That Stick!

Presented by: Karen Deppa, Mike Donahue; PilotLight Resilience Resources, LLC

Room 202

Habits involve repeating behavior and getting rewarded for it, so that it is repeated over and over, without conscious thought. Exactly the reason that we train again and again on basic evolutions. However, we overlook the outsize role that habits play in our lives. We tend to interpret all of our actions as intentional, believing that we are always “in charge.” In fact, habits control a much greater percentage of our behaviors than you might guess.

Depending on what the habits are, the fact that we are very much creatures of habit can be a good thing or a bad thing. Once we understand how habits work — how they are formed, reinforced, and broken — we have not only the ability, but arguably the responsibility, to apply research-based principles to form habits that enrich our life, rather than detract from it.

Goals that require repeated behaviors in order to achieve success – such as physical fitness or applying resilience skills to improve our behavioral health – require us to form new habits and change old habits. Approaching habit formation in a structured way can set us up for success.

Drawing on the science of habit formation, instructors Karen Deppa and Mike Donahue will describe the three factors that work together to form habits, both good and bad. They will then offer research-backed strategies that work to create new habits and break unwanted habits. Finally, students will be asked to identify a productive habit they would like to form and an unproductive habit that they would like to break. Instructors will guide students to develop a plan for achieving the change they seek.