Psychologist John Norcross says most people people who have curbed their problem drinking have done so on their own.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Many people do change on their own; they are "self-changers" A series of learned skills distinguishes successful resolvers from unsuccessful ones Find someone else who makes the same resolution to support you

(TIME.com) -- It's time to set goals for the coming year, and a psychologist has some hints for helping you to make those changes last.

John Norcross, a professor of psychology at the University of Scranton, is one of the world's leading experts on how people change addictive behaviors. Over the last 30 years, he and his colleagues have studied people who successfully quit smoking, cut back or quit heavy drinking, lost weight or started exercising regularly— including those whose lasting change began with a resolution to start on January first. He outlined some of his strategies

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