After a short stint off from podcasting, I’m back. And I’ll be talking a lot about what it really takes to create a healthy family.

Time off has a way of generating ideas and I had many this summer. But one, in particular, stood out. I got to thinking about how darn hard it is to raise healthy children -- and be truly healthy ourselves -- in today’s complicated world. It’s mind-boggling how the world has changed in a short period of time.

The speed of changing technology is a key driver in all of this. The way we receive information, move (or don’t), connect with others, grocery shop and eat, and the type of jobs available is completely different. Yet, despite all this change many of us use are left with old, outdated parenting and health practices. I believe there’s a mismatch between the tools we have and the times in which we live -- and this is what makes parenting hard.

The good news is that with the right tools, robust health is more achievable than ever. Today on the Healthy Family Podcast I’m discussing the 5 habits of the healthiest families and how I’ll be addressing each of these in upcoming podcast episodes.

Does this sound familiar? You try to add a new habit and for a while, it goes well....until life gets in the way. The new exercise routine gets pushed aside when work gets busy. Your vow to keep the house clean slowly goes down the (messy) toilet. Having your child read/do chores/cook/ over the summer goes nowhere because he is so darn resistant.

On today's show, we have a leading expert who shows us that building new habits doesn’t need to be hard. No, it can actually be easy, rewarding, and even fun (his words). We’re just going about it the wrong way.

BJ Fogg is director of the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University, focusing on methods for creating habits and behavior change. He spends half his time in industry and the other half teaching at Stanford. He got his start focusing on how to change behavior utilizing mobile phones and over the years, improving health has become a theme. In December of 2011, Fogg created the Tiny Habits method. His Tiny Habits program has helped over 40,000 people create sustainable and lasting habits. He shares his wisdom and after listening to this episode you'll never look at behavior change the same way again.

Highlights from the Show:

• The three components of behavior that must occur for that behavior to become a habit.
• The best way to stop a bad behavior and add a positive one, and why adding new behaviors is a better approach.
• How to add new behaviors using the Tiny Habits Method, and why it is incredibly useful for helping children form positive habits.
• Top misconceptions about behavior change that hold people back (and why it’s easier to create habits than people think).
• Why it’s so hard to create a habit abound something you don’t want or see as painful.
• The most important question to ask: “where does this new behavior fit naturally in my day?”
• How our culture misleads us into believing transformational change is better than incremental change when clearly it’s the other way around.
• Why effective behavior change is like growing a plant and has nothing to do with willpower.