Change 1 Behavior

You begin by working to change one behavior at a time, and you will see how great you feel and how positively people respond to you. You may incorporate those changes into your life and then wait a while to try other behavior changes. You will do best when you move at your own pace—one week, one month, or longer on each behavior. Some people believe it takes more than 30 days to change a behavior and make it a habit; other opinions range from 21 days to 66 days. You’ll know when your habit has become automatic. Please inform the author by email when your behavior change became a habit and how long it took. sharonwpenn@gmail.com. You can find more information on her website: www.sharonwpenn.com Research teams and individuals working with the author tested the behaviors and tasks that are used in this book to validate their usefulness, workability, and changeability. Mental health professional consultants were available at all times and were a part of the research teams that met often. The groups stayed in touch with the author and each other in person, by email, and telephone, sometimes on a daily basis. There are 11 chapters on behavior changes (Chapters 4 - 14) in the book—one for each behavior goal addressed. Please see the Contents page. You probably will not work for every goal listed in the book. You will have priorities at this time, and later you may have other behaviors you will choose to enhance or change. Each chapter is arranged so that if you decide to go to a particular behavior, you can start there and not have to read guidelines in another area of the book. Each chapter is self-contained, which makes it user-friendly. There are assessments at the end of each chapter on most behaviors addressed for you to complete (also located in the Worksheet Section). The worksheet number corresponds to the chapter number. When there are two tests to a chapter, they are a and b. Posters for the behaviors covered in the book are available to copy. They are included in both the behavior chapter contents and in a posters section. You can print these to display as a reminder that you are making a change and have the guidelines posted for you and others to use. The behaviors addressed in this book: ~Aging (attitude, memory, pain) ~Anger ~Approachability ~Depression (blues busters) ~Friendships ~Happiness ~Healthy Living (diet, exercise, sleep) ~Humor and Fun ~Relationships for couples ~Self-Esteem ~Spirituality Other behaviors are being posted on her website: www.sharonwpenn.com