How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

Making changes in your own life is not a simple process. The first step is understanding what change needs to be made. Sometimes other people can assist in observing areas that need improvement. Maybe the quest to be the best interferes with the ability to be good. 

Then comes the hard part of doing something and sticking with it. It is easier to "change" if there is no past behavior to replace. If there is something in the past, getting a fake "fresh start" is often helpful. A special date or event can do it. New Year's resolutions are set at the turning of the year because they represent this "fresh start". Many fail. However, there are probably more that succeed at that time than at arbitrary dates during the year.

Gamification, peer pressure and nudges all help in the process. Rather than going directly to the hardest machine at the gym, starting with the most fun can be helpful. The "Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." It can even be helpful to combine the desired new behavior with something fun or an indulgence. One example was to listen to audiobooks only while working out. You can also look to others that have done what you want and follow their example. Thought it is important to make sure it is realistic. (Don't jump right in and try to follow the olympic gold medalist.)

Many of the ideas in the book sound familiar from similar books. There some interesting twists. Some nudges can actually make things worse. Putting best performers with worst performers in a military academy is worse than having randomly selected groups. Telling employees how much others save can discourage them from saving appropropriate. Giving students the option of hard deadlines (with penalties) increases performance. Giving savers an option for an account that they can't take out of improves saving. People are interesting and don't behave exactly as economists would have them do.