Month: August 2016
Why Transitions Are the Best Time to Start New Habits
Habits transform our lives. Borrowing from the concepts in Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit, financial planner, Dave Seibel, recently challenged a group of seniors that the transition out of college is the ideal time to start a new habit. When we are out of our normal rhythm (or ruts), we can more easily adopt a new practice. It’s why people who want to quit smoking are encouraged to start the new habit while they’re on vacation, or why marketing geniuses send coupons to new parents as they’re entering the major transition of parenthood (if we start buying diapers at Target, we’re likely to keep buying there). We are more inclined to succeed and stick to a habit if we started it during a transitional time. What better time than right after college – when things are far from “normal” – to start the habits that will lead to a healthy “new normal.”
This short article on How to Adapt to Life After College talks about the importance of changing habits right after college, with suggestions like getting to bed earlier and eating lunch at the same time each day to regulate your metabolism. It also hits on two other key habits: setting goals and living on a budget.
What habits do you need to start, stop or continue doing to thrive after college?
Two Truths and a Lie About Singleness After College
When I was in my mid-twenties, my friend Kimi and I entered an essay contest for twentysomething writers that invited us to explore a question that was keeping us up a night. Kimi wrote a thoughtful piece about race issues and ethnic identity. I too had deep questions related to politics, justice, and so on, but when it came down to it, my real burning question was about boyfriends. Or the lack thereof. I titled my piece “Twentysomething and Single” and wrote about a question I was asked almost weekly at the time by anyone from family members to close friends to perfect strangers: “So, are you in a relationship?” READ MORE…
This article first appeared on InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Blog, August 4, 2016 as part of the “Just Tell Me What I Need to Know” blog series.