9．
You make decisions，year after year，never lasting for more than a few days ending up lost and in the same place you started．Allow me to suggest some tips that may help you stick to your decisions creating long-lasting positive change in your life．
Telling other people about your plan can help in many ways．First，it is always easier to stick to a decision when you have other people supporting you．Your friends are less likely to temp you with whatever it is you are trying to control if they know that you made a decision about it．Telling other people about your decision is also helpful in that it keeps us to the pressure on you to try and stick to you plan of action．
Choose a measurable and specific decision．Instead of deciding to"look better"or"have a better relationship with so and so"，choose a more definable decision．Deciding to"eat a vegetable every day"or"go out for coffee once a week with John"is much easier to track and assess than a general decision to"be a better person"．
Build a reward system．Connected to the last tip of choosing a measurable and specific decision is that when you do accomplish this specific behavior you decided to do，give yourself small rewards along the process．For example，for every week of healthy eating treat yourself with something special．
Creative visual aids．A colleague of mine decided one year for his New Year's decision to be more frugal．He decided to try and save money by lowering his monthly bills．So he posted a copy of his highest electric bill by his heater so that every time he wanted to raise the temperature he would see the high electric bill reminding him to be more cautious about his energy consumption．
(1) Many people's decisions can't become reality because ______ ．
A. they don't take them seriously at the beginning
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B. they make them but can't stick to them to the end
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C. they meet much difficulty in the process
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D. they lack support from their families
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(2) Why does the writer advise telling your plan to other people？ ______
A. Because they will offer you support and pressure．
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B. Because they may reward you along the process．
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C. Because they will temp you when you want something．
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D. Because you will need someone to offer some visual aids．
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(3) Which of the following is a specific decision？ ______
A. To look better．
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B. To behave better．
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C. To be an honest person．
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D. To go out for dinner with a friend once a week．
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(4) The underlined word"frugal"probably means ______ ．
A. careful with money
| B. careless with money
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C. cautious about safety
| D. generous with money
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(5) The colleague posted his highest electric bill by his heater to ______ ．
A. remind himself not to use the heater
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B. warn himself not to waste energy
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C. remember the electric bill forever
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| D. remind himself that he is short of money． |