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Vera Wang is one of the most sought-after and successful contemporary female fashion designers. Though we likely know her for her empire of tulle, we might not know she started her career as a figure skater.

After early success, her competitive edge plateaued. By taking a step back and seeing what she wanted in life from a wider perspective, she knew she should regroup.

Giving up, in some regards, might actually be the best route forward. Research finds that people who struggle to cut themselves off from working on a goal they can't accomplish experience dangerously, chronic stress level compared to people disengage when the timing is right. Finding a new path to the end goal can lead to faster and better progress.

4. Materialize your progress to increase accountability

\"PHOTO:
Yulia Nar/Random House Publishing Group
PHOTO: Emily Balcetis, Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology at New York University and the author of "Clearer, Closer, Better: How Successful People See the World."
>

We are skilled rationalizers. We can justify away what we might consider to be maladaptive choices, like treat days to a dieter or shopping sprees to someone cutting down debt.

Often, we do this by considering them in isolation, saying to ourselves something like, \"It was just one day. I'll start fresh tomorrow.\" In so doing, we forget that we succumbed to temptation, and are likely to do it again. And again.

We can cut this cycle, though, by concretely recording, taking note and remembering how we spend our time, money, calories or other resources. When we materialize, we hold ourselves accountable for the forward or backward progress we make.

I tested this out on myself. I wanted to know where my disposable income went and used an app to track my unintended purchases for two weeks. I set my phone to ask me every three or four hours whether I had spent any money I had not intended to that day since last it asked me. If I confirmed I had, it asked on what. I recorded all my responses to each question.

In two weeks, I had spent $75.30 thoughtlessly and spontaneously. Now, that's not going to break the bank but it was certainly more than I had realized I had spent from one day to the next. And I learned it was entirely on midday (and midmorning) snacks.

At New York City rates, the total cost of my unintended expenditures could have bought me instead almost four hours of babysitting -- a rare luxury and freedom that in hindsight I value a lot more than pastries and a second cup of morning coffee.

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