WEBVTT

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Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Bruce
Galland and I'm Alice Sarah Zuri. Spotlight

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uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand

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no matter where in the world they
live. A man wakes from bed at

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eight in the morning. He dresses
and makes his bed, He starts the

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stove to make breakfast, and he
brews coffee. All the while he is

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not thinking about any of these actions. He is thinking about what he is

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going to do later in the day. These actions are the man's habits.

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There are things he does every day, or at least very regularly. He

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performs them so often that he does
not have to think about them. This

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frees up his mind to think about
other things. Habits can be very powerful.

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They can help you learn new things. A good habit can keep you

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healthy, or it could keep you
organized. A good habit can help you

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become more successful in life. But
starting a new habit can be difficult.

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Changing a bad habit can be even
more difficult. There is good news,

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though. There are several well established
ways of making new habits. On today's

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Spotlight, we will discuss them.
We will talk about how they can help

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your life for the better. Today's
spotlight is on the five steps to making

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a new habit. Everyone makes habits. You form habits when you repeat an

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action again and again. Do you
remember learning to tie your shoes. At

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first, it was probably difficult.
You had to think about the motion,

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and you probably failed often. But
soon the motion became easier. Your fingers

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moved automatically. All habits are like
this. They are a way of learning

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how to act. Some habits,
like learning how to tie your shoes,

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are active. These are habits we
form with intention. We learn them because

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we want to learn them. But
many habits people form are passive. These

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are actions we make in response to
the environment. These help us adapt or

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change to fit in with things around
us. Often these habits are harmless.

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But such habits may not be the
best way to deal with the situation,

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or these cause more problems rather than
resolve the situation. Most people learning new

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habits are trying to change passive habits, or they are trying to relearn habits

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they learned incorrectly. They hope that
a new habit will make their lives better.

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These five steps will help you,
or anyone you know, do just

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that. The first step to making
a new habit is to set a goal.

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Do you want to eat healthier?
Do you want to learn a new

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language. Understanding these goals will help
you focus on what you need to change,

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and goals will allow you to understand
how a new habit might help.

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Some people even recommend creating a detailed
plan. This will allow you to track

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where you are in your goal.
The next step to making a new habit

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is to start small. Most life
changes can seem very large at first.

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These may even seem too big.
Ashley Abraham Hampson is a blogger at one

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Medical. She wrote about forming healthy
habits. One of the biggest mistakes people

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make when trying to form a new
habit is taking on too much, and

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they try to do it too quickly. They want to exercise more, so

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they begin to train for a very
long run immediately. Big changes like this

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to your routine can be overwhelming.
These can be exhausting and difficult to continue.

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Most changes do not come quickly all
at once. Change comes with time

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in small steps. Long distance running
may be impossible for someone who has never

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run, but that person could run
a smaller race soon they may be ready

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to try a larger goal. The
third step to making a new habit is

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to repeat it often. All new
habits form through repetition. Sometimes you may

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need to repeat the habit once per
day. Some you may only need to

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practice once a week. For others, you may need to set a special

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time. The point is not to
practice more. Instead, it is to

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practice regularly. You do not have
to meet your goals every time, but

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if you continue, you will eventually
form a habit. The next step to

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making a new habit is to make
it fun, or you could combine the

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habit with something you already enjoy.
Exercise is a good example. Many people

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think exercise means lifting weights or running, or they think that it must be

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unpleasant, but there are many other
activities that can keep you healthy. Do

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you like long walks in the woods? Do you like dancing? These are

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exercise. They may not be the
most efficient exercises, but if you enjoy

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them, you are more likely to
practice them often. Finally, your new

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habits should be part of your routine. Most people do things in the same

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way every day. They go to
the same places, they speak to the

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same people. A habit should fit
with these repeated activities. A person learning

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a new language does not need to
change their entire life. Instead, they

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should find a time within their day
to practice. Do you have extra time

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after work? What about before?
Fitting habits in these spaces makes them easier

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to continue. You only need to
change one aspect of your life to fit

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this new habit. Changing to make
new habits is difficult. Sometimes it can

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feel impossible, but following these tips
will give you a good start. Creating

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habits can give you control over some
parts of your life life. It can

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help you learn or grow as a
person, and new habit may be the

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way to success in your life.
Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian peace activist and

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spiritual leader. He often wrote about
forming good habits. He once said,

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carefully watch your thoughts, for they
become your words. Manage your words,

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for they will become your behavior.
Consider and judge your behaviors, for they

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have become your habits. Recognize and
watch your habits, for they will become

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your values. Understand your values,
for they become your future. Do you

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have a habit you want to form? What is it? How will you

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make the habit happen? You can
leave a comment on our website or email

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us at Radio at Radio dot net. You can also comment on Facebook at

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Facebook dot com slash Spotlight Radio.
The writer of this program was Dan Christman.

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The producer was Michio Ozaki. The
voices you heard were from the United

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Kingdom and the United States. All
quotes were adapted for this program and voiced

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by Spotlight. You can listen to
this program again and read it on the

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internet at www dot Radio English dot
net. This program is called the Five

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Steps to Making New Habits. You
can also get our programs delivered directly to

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your Android or Apple device through our
free official Spotlight English app. We hope

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you can join us again for the
next Spatlight program. Goodbye,