Choiceology with Katy Milkman

Creatures of Habit: With Guests Wendy Wood, Angela Duckworth & Stephan Kesting


Listen Later

Benjamin Franklin is one of the most revered figures in American history. He accomplished more in one lifetime--as a publisher, scientist, and politician--than most of us dream of. One argument for his success is that he was a creature of habit. His grueling daily schedule focused on repeating several habits of self-improvement. He hoped to achieve a perfect version of himself by automating certain positive behaviors. Whether or not he always stuck to his daily schedule of self-improvement is debatable, but his intuition about the importance of habit was right on the money.

In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at the power of habit in shaping our behavior--for the better and for the worse.

We begin with firefighter Stephan Kesting. Stephan takes us through several of the drills that firefighters repeat over and over again in order to internalize certain behaviors. These behaviors can save lives in disaster scenarios. Stephan’s preparedness was put to the test early in his career when he and his team were called to a massive fire. You’ll hear how habits developed through intense training made all the difference in a life-or-death rescue operation.

Stephan Kesting is an officer in the Delta Fire Department in Delta, British Columbia. He is also a black belt instructor in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

To look at the science behind habit, Katy invited two top scholars to share their insights into this phenomenon.

First, Wendy Wood explains why we have habits, how they’re formed, and the reasons they’re often difficult to change. Wendy Wood is the Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at Dornsife College at the University of Southern California. She’s also the author of the new book Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick.

Next, you’ll hear from Angela Duckworth on how habits relate to self-control and persistence. She offers strategies that leverage the power of habit to help mitigate self-control challenges. Angela Duckworth is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.

Choiceology is an original podcast from Charles Schwab. For more on the series, visit schwab.com/podcast.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a ✪✪✪✪✪ rating or review on Apple Podcasts.

Important Disclosures:

All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions.

The comments, views, and opinions expressed in the presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent the views of Charles Schwab.

Data contained herein from third-party providers is obtained from what are considered reliable sources. However, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed.

(1119-99ZW)

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Choiceology with Katy MilkmanBy Charles Schwab

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

1,383 ratings


More shows like Choiceology with Katy Milkman

View all
Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,260 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

22,054 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,409 Listeners

Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

Worklife with Adam Grant

9,187 Listeners

Schwab Market Update Audio by Charles Schwab

Schwab Market Update Audio

316 Listeners

Financial Decoder by Charles Schwab

Financial Decoder

299 Listeners

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos by Pushkin Industries

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

14,389 Listeners

WashingtonWise by Charles Schwab

WashingtonWise

438 Listeners

The Next Big Idea by Next Big Idea Club

The Next Big Idea

1,272 Listeners

Giving With Impact by DAFgiving360

Giving With Impact

10 Listeners

No Stupid Questions by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

No Stupid Questions

3,678 Listeners

People I (Mostly) Admire by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

People I (Mostly) Admire

2,136 Listeners

ReThinking by TED

ReThinking

611 Listeners

A Slight Change of Plans by Pushkin Industries

A Slight Change of Plans

2,065 Listeners

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

234 Listeners

Freakonomics, M.D. by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics, M.D.

1,119 Listeners

The Economics of Everyday Things by Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

The Economics of Everyday Things

1,606 Listeners

What It's Like To Be... by Dan Heath

What It's Like To Be...

664 Listeners

On Investing by Charles Schwab

On Investing

282 Listeners