Answer 1

​The first step on the way to successfully change is to commit quietly but fully and vow not to stop before reaching your goal. If you don't decide to change, your old habits win out; the moment you decide, you become formidable, like some hungry animal that will hunt relentlessly until it finds food. Things become clear; life becomes simpler because when you decide, you simplify it; one priority rises to the top. Making an unequivocal choice for change unleashes a nearly unstoppable force, especially if you tune into the pleasure.

Answer 2

These are ​some critical guidelines for successfully achieving long-term and short-term goals:
Set only your own goals. Don't allow others to set them for you, and don't set goals for others.
Always write your goals down, and look at them often. Putting a goal in writing moves you from wishing to doing, from contemplation to preparation and action. When you write goals down, you become more committed to making your words come true.
Give each goal a rating from 0 to 10 for the degree to which the goal is one you embrace as your own, using 0 for one that you do not embrace at all and 10 for a goal fully embraced by you.
Make a second rating to express the importance of accomplishing each goal, using 0 for a goal completely unimportant to you and 10 for one as important as you could imagine.

Answer 3

​Psychologist James Prochaska and his colleagues, by tracking what they considered to be universal stages in the successful recovery of drug addicts and alcoholics, developed a way of thinking about change that cuts across psychological theories. Their "transtheoretical" model focuses on universal aspects of an individual's decision-making process rather than on social or biological influences on behavior. Instead of conceptualizing change as an exertion of effort or will, Prochaska identified various stages that people move through as they progress from being clueless, to conscious, to committed to making a change.

Answer 4

​You couldn't get through the day without habits. Your daily routine consists of habitual behaviors like combing your hair, getting dressed, taking notes, texting friends, and a variety of other things. But if you take the time to step back and observe yourself, you may identify some habits that get in your way and slow you down. You can replace these negative behaviors with positive new skills (the word people use for habits they like and want to keep) that empower and energize your life.

Answer 5

The small decisions of everyday life—what to eat, where to go, when to study—are straightforward. Larger issues—which major to choose, what to do about a dead-end relationship, how to handle an awkward work-study situation—are more challenging.