People CAN change.

David Rendall cleared up his point in his comment to the previous post.
People CAN change, it's undeniable. People can turn their life around by conscious decision. Smokers quit, once-obese ladies do figure competitions, workaholics escape the rat race. BUT these examples are few and far between.
I think many people have a habit or personality trait that they wish they could change, they feel if they succeeded their life would be hugely improved. They are aware of what they need to change, they appear to try to change it, but most of them never will. So the next question is, How do people change? What's different about the efforts or the journey of someone who has made a successful change, and someone who fails over and over again? And how can a person of the latter description finally leave behind them the accumulating "History of Failures"?
Here is a small summary and analysis of Personal Accounts of Successful Versus Failed Attempts at Life Change, just for a start. This tune is at the top of the charts in here, so more is forthcoming.