The human condition lends itself to creating habitual behaviors. Some habits are absolutely fantastic: basic hygiene and being prompt are awesome. Other habits are not so good, like smoking and drinking to excess, while others are innocuous, like making your bed or having OCD behaviors (Yes, we all have some of these). We all have habits in our work life. These can be good or bad things. Some of our habits are behaviors that we have picked up over time. I am certainly guilty of habitual behaviors. What is contained in this article may or may not be helpful to your radio life, but it may help your life and create more freedom.
We all create our own prison cells. There are choices that we make that may seem like the right thing. If you have been in a bad relationship — whether romantic, platonic, professional, or activity-related — many of us have a hard time breaking that bond.
Sometimes, these bad relationships create poison in our lives. I have a friend who has been working for a great station. His relationship with his Market Manager is pure poison. This guy is close to retirement and is trying to stretch out his career for a couple of more years. He is imprisoned. Now, could he quit? Of course, he could walk away today. He is close to paying off his home. He doesn’t want to start over in a different career in his mid-60s, but he is stuck. Is the money worth the professional pain? For this guy, it is.
Many people remain in a bad marriage because children are involved. If both members of the bad marriage are sticking it out, perhaps they can work things out in the relationship if both people are willing to compromise and sometimes change. If you have ever had overwhelming debt, you are imprisoned by paying interest on a lunch at Waffle House three years ago. Some of these prisons are not so severe. You could be surfing social media for five hours a day. We often spend our precious time on things that do not assist us in becoming happier and more productive people.
We all fall into ruts. This could be in your professional or personal life. If it is Taco Tuesday every single week, you need to break it up. I love Tacos as well. That being said, we all know people who have been consuming the same food, drink, and products. They never ever want to try something new. You may know someone who only drives a certain make of car. I am not saying that if you rarely switch things up that you are a bad person. What I am suggesting is that your habits could prevent you from the sensation of wonder.
If you have small children in your sphere, the beauty is that these little humans just look at things with awe. When was the last time that you were just amazed by something? Frequently, these moments of discovery open up your senses. I personally try to eat different things, try new restaurants, and learn new things. I think that this is important for all of us to strive to accomplish. Certain activities bring back fond memories or feelings. This is not a terrible thing, but it is imprisoning if you are unable to create new memories or feelings.
Innocuous habits and behaviors have their drawbacks. Yes, I have them, and you do as well. I realized that I pat my wallet every time I go out. It started innocent enough. I forgot my wallet once after attempting to purchase a cart full of food at the grocery store. I had to run home and get the wallet. And I am sure that we all have done this. Forgetting my wallet once has turned into a habitual and now unconscious behavior.
What is your innocuous habit or behavior? Is it taking up space in your noggin that would be better dedicated to something productive? You may not be aware of these innocuous habits. It is good to analyze these things.
Here is the application to our career: your habits and behaviors from show prep, on-air work, and interpersonal relationships could be holding you from greater success and personal fulfillment. We all have certain sacred cows. Sometimes these cows need to be slain and consumed…or at least rehomed to someone else.
I am not telling you what you need to change. If you are honest with yourself, you know what habits are holding you back. Are your work habits holding you back? Most talk radio hosts have days where they can’t find something great to speak about. These hosts often go to the well on a topic that always works. These topics are habitual fallbacks.
Be the host who pushes through a topic that is not resonating with you. The late, great Norm MacDonald was a comic genius. Norm was willing to fail on stage. He often joked that if he bombed badly, he would be at the exit door thanking the people for coming. When you host a radio show, you don’t see the faces of excited or disappointed listeners.
If you try something new, the pensive feelings are often with the host and shut-ins only. Don’t be too focused on the feedback from the station text line. Reassess your habits for your radio show. Get rid of things that are not contributing to the show. Change up your prep routine. Try new things. Air-check yourself.
Get rid of the bad and focus on the good.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He currently serves as News/Talk Format Captain for Zimmer Communications. Prior to joining Zimmer, Peter held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Des Moines, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
