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45 percent of what we do is based on pure routine. This means that by creating habits we can take control of almost half of our lives. Understanding how to make new habits stick is therefore of utmost importance. Without having the habit of eating three times a day or resting when coming home from work our physical and mental health would be compromised. Unfortunately creating new habits can be easier said than done. It requires practice, patience and guidance. This course is created to support you on this journey.Throughout this course you will learn how to make new habits stick – by following four steps. Start off easy by breaking down your values in small, concrete behaviours. This is followed by repetition of chosen behaviour and creation of a signal linked to the behaviour. Finally you will get to practice a new way of rewarding yourself. All taken together this course will help you form the behaviour into a habit.

Do you see the glass half full or half empty? Some days it can be hard to see the positive side of life, it is easy to forget the things that make or have made us happy in the past and suddenly the glass is just never filled enough. When we get stuck in the negative outlook on life we might need to be reminded of the good parts life throws our way. Positive thinking doesn’t have to mean sticking your head in the sand, ignoring life’s less pleasant situations. It doesn’t mean smiling when the house is on fire. It means seeing some of these situations as opportunities rather than problems – being reminded of the positive aspects when life is tough. Psychology researcher Shyh ShinWong discovered that adding positive thoughts to your day is nurturing for your overall happiness, well-being and life-satisfaction. This course focuses on breaking the pattern of negative thinking with the help of four training tips bringing a positive spin to your day.

Design principle three is about fair and inclusive decision-making. Here are three psychological training tips to test how you can create inclusive decision-making in your team.

The fourth design principle – monitoring of agreed behaviors – goes hand in hand with the underlying psychology of positive feedback. National economist Elinor Ostrom’s resource model focuses on observation and monitoring. We know from psychology studies that the effect of observing behavior in a group becomes even stronger when positive feedback is supplied. That is why we have expanded this principle.

The fifth principle, graduated responses to unhelpful behaviors, is about not allowing behaviors that are damaging to the group to survive.

The second design principle – developed by political economist Elinor Ostrom – is based on the need for a balance between the effort it takes to reach a goal and the reward received for this effort.

The first design principle – Strong group identity and understanding of purpose– is the entire foundation for cooperation in an organization. 

The sixth design principle is about fast and fair conflict resolution.

All cooperation requires a bit of work. In order to be able to coordinate different groups, it is necessary to establish common goals, make sure that each group benefits from the collaboration, and to clarify how decisions are to be made between the groups. It is also important to encourage those who cooperate, but also to impose modest penalties for those who do not. A platform for conflict management should also be in place. At the same time, the cooperation must not have a detrimental impact on group independence, where, for example, one group determines how another group will solve its work tasks. In brief, the design principles need to be applied to groups and not only to individuals. This is what the eighth design principle is about. A design principle to scale up cooperation and coordinate cooperation between groups.

The seventh design principle – authority to self-govern – concerns the degree of independence for groups within larger groups, such as teams within a larger organization. When there is autonomy, it is easier for the team to learn from their own consequences and face a changing environment; it becomes a team composed of active employees.