Prepare for Your Future Today

In the United States, a person is considered an adult at age 18, responsible for their own actions and decisions. Young people may look forward to the day they turn 18 and become "free." Some may go off to college and live in a dorm, while others may enter the workforce and live on their own. Others may prefer to live at home awhile longer. Regardless of their circumstances, new adults will enjoy their freedom much more if they have taken the time to establish good habits early in their lives.
Parents and teachers do their part to instruct their young charges in basic life skills so they develop independence as they grow and mature. Good habits include getting up in time to get dressed. Making sure homework and assignments are properly done and ready to turn in is a great habit. So is making good choices regarding nutrition. As young people leave childhood and enter into adolescence at age 12 or 13, doing these things by themselves becomes important. The five or six years before their "happy adult days" should be spent developing daily habits that will help them be responsible young adults.
The young person who sets an alarm and gets up and dressed without parental support at home will have no problem getting to class on time at college. The person who makes healthy choices in the school cafeteria will make the same healthy choices at college or work. Young people who have their assignments ready on time will be able to impress their bosses as they work independently. On the other hand, those who must still have their mother tell them when to get up may find adulthood is a bit harder than they expected.

Passage 2

How to Develop a Habit

Developing good, healthy habits takes discipline, and some people find it difficult. Researchers say there are some tips and tricks to follow that will make developing habits more attainable. For young people seeing the highway of adulthood looming ever closer, developing good habits now may be key in being successful as they leave high school. According to research, motivation and discipline are key, but breaking habit-building down into five simple steps can make it possible for anyone to form good habits.

Step 1. Dream big, walk small.

Set a big goal then set small daily "quotas" that must be done to achieve the goal. For example, a freshman girl wants to make the officer line of the drill team her senior year. She knows she must be able to "kick her nose" in the high kick to even be eligible. Her daily "quota" would be to do a series of stretches every day for 15 minutes or so.

Step 2. Link behaviors.

Use an already established schedule to build on. This, in turn, will cause the schedule to support the new habit. For example, a freshman boy wants to compete in a cross-country run by a certain date. He knows he should eat healthier. Instead of saying, "I'm going to eat healthier," which is rather vague, he might decide to eat a certain amount of protein and vegetables every day after school for a snack.

Step 3. Limit choices.

According to different studies, choosing between many options drains a person's mental energy. Try to pare down decision-making by limiting choices. Researchers suggest identifying the uninteresting parts of one's life and making those decisions routine. Plan a few healthy options for breakfast and lunch and make them as simple and quick as possible. Or simplify the daily wardrobe, if fashion is not a big consideration, and wear simple outfits.

Step 4. Visualize the action, not the accomplishment.

A study done at a university in California found that people visualizing themselves doing the things needed to achieve their goals were more successful than people visualizing the goal itself. That is, a person who visualized himself practicing the piano everyday was more successful than the person who saw himself playing at Carnegie Hall.

Step 5. Make course adjustments.

When sticking to a habit becomes difficult, do not give up on it. Habits need correction just as students need correction when they begin working a math problem the wrong way. If the habit seems to be breaking down, stop and examine where it is going wrong. This course correction may be very simple. For example, the cross-country runner mentioned above is having trouble getting dressed for his morning run. He analyzes the problem and realizes he doesn't like going into the cold laundry room to get his running shoes in the morning. So, he puts his running shoes by his bed. Now he is running down the path of habitual success.
11
In what way is the information in the first passage different from the information in the second passage?
A.
The first passage mentions research-based facts about developing habits.
B.
The first passage suggests what people can do to develop good habits.
C.
The first passage states that parents prevent the formation of habits.
D.
The first passage gives examples of how developing good habits helps in adulthood.