With the New Year approaching we tend to start thinking about goals and ways to better ourselves. In the past I did not make New Year Resolutions because I simply did not keep them. I would start off strong and then my motivation would fade. I know now that I did not keep those resolutions because I wasn’t thinking behaviorally.
Last year I did not make an “official” New Year Resolution, but passing the Board Certified Behavior Analyst exam was very important to me. I set a goal to pass the BCBA exam my first attempt. I created a plan, reinforced my behaviors and I had some great accountability partners. Becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) was motivating because I knew that becoming a BCBA would mean more job opportunities, that my Master’s degree tuition and student loans were not in vain, and that I’d have the potential to make more money. I knew that I would need some valuable reinforcers to follow through with my study plan because I needed to be reinforced for my studying behavior immediately to acquire and maintain that behavior. I’m excited to say that my plan worked and that I studied, maintained my studying behavior and passed the BCBA exam my first time. This year I have decided to continue using principals of ABA to get myself together and meet my goals.
My goals for this year are to keep on the content on this blog, get my household organized, make meaningful contributions to the community and field of ABA. Sounds like a lot doesn’t it? For the next few weeks I’ll be writing about how I plan to make these resolutions come to fruition, so stay tuned.
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