Listen to part of a lecture in a psychology class.

So when people are working towards a goal like establishing a new habit or behavior, one of the most common reasons they might fail is because they give in to temptations along the way. They're tempted by something in the moment, something that distracts them and prevents them from achieving their goal. Researchers have found that people who give in to temptation often find reasons, bad reasons, to do so, but there are some techniques people can use to avoid acting on those faulty reasons and to be successful at attaining their goals. One technique when faced with temptation is to simply stop and take some time before acting, to first pause and reflect, examine a reason that may have just quickly sprung to mind. Researchers have found that delaying and reflecting like this makes it less likely that a person will act on bad reasoning and give in to a temptation. For example, say I'm trying to eat healthier, but one day, I have an especially hard day at work, so I'm tempted to treat myself by buying an ice cream. But if I just force myself to wait a bit before I buy it, it's less likely I'll do it. Another technique involves finding someone else with a similar goal to hold yourself accountable. Since it can be easy to invent reasons to convince yourself why you should give in to temptation, explaining your reasons first to someone else adds additional perspective and accountability. For example, say I meet regularly with a friend at the gym to exercise, but one day I'm feeling tired and thinking about skipping. Well, first I need to contact my friend and tell her that I won't be meeting her at the gym, and why. And well, she's probably not going to let me get away with that.