1. The key word here is practice. It is better to not think of self-improvement than to think of it and then not act. Imagining all the good things you could be doing, yet doing the same old thing day after day, is actually sapping your energy, slowly but surely, until you reach a point where it feels as though you aren't able to accomplish anything at all, much less institute substantive changes. In other words, daydreaming catches up to you. It bites you from behind. The Air Force uses these terms frequently to refer to pilots who fly long flights and take medication to keep them going. They feel good for a while, but what's happening is that they're borrowing future energy--energy that they'll need in the future--so that when the future comes, and they go to make a withdrawal at the energy bank, they learn with a shock that their account is empty. Just imagining a better you a lot like borrowing energy against the future. It might feel good for a while, but it won't take very long until you are worse off than ever.

2. What is a person to do, then? After all, psychologists have shown that imagination and "positive thinking" play a crucial role in self-improvement. The key is to combine positive thinking with action. Now, you don't want to take too big a step right off the bat. As Han Solo once said, "I can imagine a LOT." And we're all great imaginers. But the road to greatness requires small, practical, realistic steps. In the beginning, you might feel as though you're going on tip-toe, moving an inch at a time. That's OK! An inch is better than nothing, and if at the end of the day you're six inches further than where you started off, that is indisputably a victory. But this is the key, it all comes down to this. Even though you've only moved six inches, your undisciplined body and mind might feel like you've moved six miles. Or, you might become discouraged at the miniscule advancement you've made so far. Both of these mindsets are guaranteed to divert you until you're back to where you started; six inches behind. The funny thing is, those six inches are going to seem a lot harder to navigate when you try them again. That's another key clue regarding the mystery of our minds. A thing that seemed easy at first, if you retreat from it, will seem harder the next time, and so on and so on. The message: don't quit while you're ahead, even six inches ahead. If you ever get to the point where six inches seems impossible, you're in trouble.

3. So, you've moved six inches; now what? Well, how about another six. Who knows, perhaps this time you'll feel enough to push it up to seven or eight. One thing we know for sure is that if you keep crawling forward day by day, as much as you can without wearing yourself out, you'll eventually be moving six feet, six yards, six miles. There are many stories of personal triumph in the face of impossible odds that prove this.

4. How about an example. Let's say that your house is a mess, you don't have a job, a social life, your ambitions are down the toilet; in other words, you feel like a loser with no chance of succeeding. Considering all of your problems together is a tried-and-true way to utterly crush your spirit. But considering them one at a time, starting, perhaps, with the easiest, is not only not crushing, but (so strange and wonderful are the workings of our minds!) actually invigorating. Why not clean that house? Again, don't consider the jumbled place altogether; start with, say, the sink. Why not clean that sink? Get in there and really scrub the thing out. Scrape off the scum from those dishes, wash the cupboards, sweep the floor. Listen to some music, maybe, the kind that lifts your energy and mood. I assure you that once that kitchen's clean and shiny, life will suddenly seem less impossible. And that's just because you've cleaned the kitchen!--you've walked your six inches. But, again, if the kitchen in its entirety is too much, satisfy yourself with the sink. Really scour that sink. It'll have the same effect--increased optimism and a clearing of the brain fog that rolls in when we're feeling low.