Whether it's losing weight or achieving a career goal, most people seek to self-improve. But many are lost at how to go about it.

Set goals? Enlist others to help? Three authors give workers techniques for making a change in themselves, and potentially their career.

Self-sabotage can be an obstacle to self-improvement, and Jacques Weisel knows it well. Weisel is a Holocaust survivor and his childhood trauma has affected his self-esteem most of his life.

But it hasn't stopped Weisel, author of Bloom Where You're Planted, from achieving in his career. Now as a coach to executives and sales people, he teaches people how to circumvent bad habits that can lead to career mishaps.

Being aware of your personal issues is important to avoiding self-sabotage, he says. When people say, ``I'll try to do better,'' Weisel tells them, ``Don't try, do. . . . You have to stop yourself from self-sabotaging.'' One way to avoid self-sabotage is by developing a positive attitude, he says.

Self-esteem often begins with childhood experiences from parents and teachers. If there's negativity from that experience, it's time as an adult to replace those thoughts with what you've achieved in life, Weisel says.

PERSONAL AUDIT

Another way to begin self-improvement is by doing an audit of your work-life and asking others for feedback, says Pam Bilbrey, co-author with Brian Jones of Ordinary Greatness.

Take a personality test. She worked with one woman, for example, who had a strong personality. But her energy and enthusiasm often was off-putting to colleagues, especially when she stormed ahead on projects and didn't include them. Bilbrey gave her a personality test so she could better understand how her tendencies at work were defeating her progress.

Find your strengths. Becoming great, ``is not about having one skill that's phenomenal,'' Bilbrey says. ``It's about consistency and doing ordinary things well.''

Ask for feedback from colleagues and supervisors, she says. ``Sometimes it's difficult to hear when people are truthful with you. But it's an opportunity to see how others are viewing you.''

Set goals and celebrate the incremental steps you achieve. Share your goals publicly so supporters will rally around you.

``We get better at those things we can measure. If you don't set goals, you can't tell that you progressed,'' Bilbrey says.

Don't get sidetracked worrying about what others think of you. ``Others' perceptions are often nagging at us. They divert our focus and we lose track of things that are important, behaviors that are critical for us,'' Bilbrey says.

TAKING CHARGE

Workers also need to get their bosses or colleagues on board with helping them meet their goals.

Ordinary Greatness co-author Jones says workers need to control what they can in their careers. He recommends ways to further goals by ``leading your boss.''

``The more they see your work and the way you treat people, the more they're going to understand your world,'' Jones says.

Send your boss an e-mail or voice-mail every Friday telling him or her the greatest thing that happened in your work area, and inviting the boss to stop by and thank people.

Never throw your boss under the bus. Don't go around telling co-workers: ``I wanted it to be this way, but the boss said no.''

``You can't blame your boss if you're not happy in your life. You have to look at what you can do,'' Jones says.

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