Habits are patterns of behavior that are embedded into the neurons in our brain. I get asked a lot, “At what age are these habits set in?” The answer is, very young. By age 6 at the latest. However, I don’t have a testing instrument that can test a child for these habits until age 14 or older. We have active and passive habits, or strong habits and weak habits. But I don’t test for habits in terms of “good” or “bad” habits. For the purposes of coaching and consulting, the process is nonjudgmental. It’s about matching you with an environment that is most comfortable for your habits. And, if necessary, a program for strengthening soft habits can be embarked on, but choosing which habit to strengthen depends on your test results. Very strong habits are not easy to weaken and even if that could be successful, in a time of stress those patterns would reemerge quickly. So for your strong, active habits this is where finding a way to exercise those habits in your life is important. For instance, someone with a very strong habit of problem solving, who is working in an environment with no problems for them to solve, may unconsciously create problems, to be able to solve them. Someone with a radical habit of a propensity to take ownership, who does not have enough in their own life to take ownership of, may start taking ownership over things that are not really theirs and assuming more responsibility than they should for others. (I have done this one).