It’s important to know the things that are truly important to you: your values in life. However, knowing what you find important will not change your life on its own. Acting according to these values is what makes them more present in your life. That’s not always so easy. Therefor you need to make a plan and start small. By starting small, you will see that you experience success more quickly, which builds confidence and motivates you to keep going. Through repetition, a new behavior will gradually become a habit.
Nele Jacobs is professor of Lifespan Psychology at the Open Universiteit. In the master's variant Lifespan Psychology for which she is responsible, the emphasis is on understanding and studying human development patterns over the life course. In both teaching and research, she focuses on positive mental health. Nele examines well-being over the life course and which factors contribute to happiness and growth. Her mission is to promote positive mental health; from a positive view of human beings, she wants to encourage happiness and growth. She values translating science into practice. As a professor, she is also affiliated with Maastricht University. She has successfully supervised several (PhD) research projects and published more than 200 peer reviewed articles in international journals. Furthermore she has contributed to several books in the field of (positive) psychology and psychiatry, as well as to professional literature in these fields. And she is regularly invited to speak at national and international (professional) conferences.
