Fresh off The Bachelor‘s exciting season 26 premiere on Monday, former Bachelor and new host Jesse Palmer stopped by Becca Kufrin and Serena Pitt‘s Bachelor Happy Hour podcast to share his approach to hosting the show, and his advice for new Bachelor Clayton Echard.

“I think a big part of hosting The Bachelor and helping Clayton is being empathetic and sympathetic…to the emotional roller coaster that goes on throughout the entire journey,” he explains.

“I think it’s trying to help them navigate all the feelings they have throughout the course of the show,” the season-five alum goes on, adding, “I think the pressure for me really was just, ‘Hey, how can I best help Clayton find what he wants.'”

Jesse thinks Clayton is a great Bachelor because “if he needs help, he’s not afraid to ask,” but Palmer says he also encouraged Echard to follow his heart.

“I told him right from the get-go ‘Hey…if you have questions, I’m happy to try to help you out, but I’m not always gonna be around you.'” Adds Palmer, “Part of the magic of this is you kinda have to figure it out for yourself.”

The one piece of advice Palmer did offer Clayton was “to not be lazy.”

“I think sometimes as the lead, you can sort of rest on your laurels a little bit,” says Jesse, who urged Clayton to “be aggressive, to get out and really sort of show interest” in the ladies: “Really try to show your best self and really put your best foot forward.”

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 pm ET on ABC.