I recently started the course, and I am finding that I am squeezing my thumb too hard into the neck. My palm spacing is OK, but it is causing my thumb to ache, especially when using multiple fingers on the fret board. What would be the best way to break that habit?
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Here’s what did it for me:
Use your forearm of your picking hand to kinda… anchor the bass against your body. Then put your thumb away. Just let it hang there, behind the neck, not even touching the neck. When you fret, your picking hand forearm will keep the bass from moving away under the pressure of your fretting hand, and you’ll learn how little pressure it actually takes to fret a note.
Also, take a few deep breaths before you play and relax.
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Josh’s technique challenge thread has a great video that, among other things, has an exercise for finding that minimum amount of pressure:
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Also, everybody does this when they are just beginning. It will get better with practice.
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You’d first need to find out what’s the lightest pressure needed to fret a note on each finger on your left hand. It’s surprisingly light. It’s all timing. You just need to apply pressure at the exactly the right moment for the right duration then let go of the pressure.
When it’s done right then it would appear to be quite effortless. It’s a very simple process, it just takes time to develop the sensation. Once you got it, then it’s like riding a bike. 
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Except with fingers. On strings. 
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Thanks to everyone who offered their advice - I’ll be using all your tips to help with this.
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This. My thumb used to ache, a year later I’ve relaxed and don’t pay attention to it anymore. You relax and ease up. Just takes time. Stick with it and don’t worry about it to much.
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