Do you want to be better than you are today? If the self-help section of the book store is any indication, many of us want to make changes in our lives. We want to be smarter, kinder, greener, more successful, more organized, thinner, and healthier, as well as being better parents, children, spouses, lovers, friends, and all-around human beings. Whew! That’s a lot.

To be more and achieve more, you must start by believing that change is possible. It is. You are not locked in to the life you have today.

Do not become discouraged when the changes you want do not happen overnight, or you find yourself backsliding into old, bad habits. You may take two steps forward and one step back many times, but the idea is to keep up the forward progress.

Here are ten ways in which each of us can change himself for the better.

1. Accept yourself. In a study made of a group of college students, it was found that those who were healthiest mentally nearly always accepted  themselves,  with  all  their faults and virtues, just as naturally as they accepted other phenomena of nature: the brooks, the valleys, the mountains, the trees. Don’t continually tear yourself apart because you don’t think you’re worthy of being loved and accepted by others.
2. Believe in yourself. Everyone has some special talent, or mark of individuality. If you don’t know what yours is, that doesn’t mean you don’t possess one. Keep seeking till you find out what your best talents are.
3. Think of how to make others happy. If you spend too much time wondering whether or not you’re happy, you won’t be.
4. Keep your hands and your mind occupied most of the time. As the old saying goes, “Idle hands are the devil’s playground.”
5. Be good to yourself. Be sure to allow for some recreational activities in your life. Always have an activity that will be fun for you planned for the near future. Always have something you are looking forward to.
6. Try to make others feel comfortable and at ease. When you meet someone for the first time, concentrate on trying to make him feel comfortable. That will keep you from feeling self-conscious. It is almost impossible for two thoughts to occupy the mind at the same time. If you concentrate on thinking about the other person, you will be too busy to worry about yourself, and you won’t give those around you the impression that you’re self-centered.
7. Decide which of your worries can be cured. Then do something about them. If you have some worries you can’t do anything about, learn to accept the situation involved without bitterness.
8. Love yourself, and then learn to love as many persons as you can besides yourself. If there are some you can’t help disliking, try to be fair to them. Look for their good traits. Everyone has them you know.
9. Believe in some Power higher and greater than yourself. If you don’t want to call that power God, then call it by whatever name you choose. Believe, also, in a universe that is working toward some final good purpose. You won’t always know what the final pattern will be, but try to make the stitches you yourself sew as fine and beautiful as possible, so you can be proud and happy about them. We all contribute to the fabric of life.
10. Forget the past. Yesterday was a dream; tomorrow may never come. Today is all we have, so use this fragment of time in the best way you can.