Instead of talking about human nature, we can talk about habits. We can speak of our ability to control habits. We can change habits by eliminating unwanted ones and adding new ones. Success in school and life is largely a matter of
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effective habits. It can be one simple, small change in
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. Let me suggest a few steps in changing a habit. First, we should face the
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about any habit, from failing asleep in class to cheating on examinations. Without taking this step, our efforts m change may become fruitless and futile. When we admit what is really going on in our lives, we are open to
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and Support Second, we should commit to
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the new behavior. After we choose a new habit, we need to use it and make a
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for when and how. We may ask ourselves such questions as these. When will I
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the new habit Where will I be How, exactly, will I think, speak, or act
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Third, we should get
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and support, which is a crucial step and a point where many of our plans for change
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down. One way to get feedback is to ask other people to
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us. If we want to start a new behavior, consider telling our close friends or family
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who can give the more
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, long-lasting support necessary in starting new habits. We ourselves are the most effective
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for our own support and feedback. We know ourselves
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than anyone else and we can design a system to
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our own behavior in starting the new habit. Finally, we need to keep
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the new behavior until it becomes as
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as breathing. Even when we don"t get the
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we want from a new behavior, we can still learn something
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from the process of forming the new habit. Once we have learnt how to change one habit, we know how to change any habit.