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two thoughts come to mind:

a) My best progress is made when I do it. I stopped talking about what I'm going to do, and just started doing it. You've got your own chemistry going on, so you get to write your own destiny here, but be aware that for some folks, talking about it is the demise that starts the inaction.

B) I've also had incredible progress assigning a reward cycle to my doing. after I've eaten the proverbial frog, or done something on my goal list, I take a few seconds to appreciate it and congratulate myself on it. It seems a bit silly and conceited to hear me say it this way, but it helps.

One of the issues with bad habits is that they are habits. so we have to find a cycle to replace them. and working with the brain chemistry is no doubt a feasible path. it helps replace the satisfaction we find in procrastination (and yes, there is a satisfaction in procrastination), with the satisfaction in "doing". and giving your brain the chemical boost from a personal "job well done".

Reform your habits.

Good Luck!

(also: This book is a good start to the idea. it's been critical in helping me piece together the nuggets I've been working with.)

I think /u/JayPetey nailed it below. You're using this as external validation of your self worth. What you need to work on, regardless of the circle of friends that you are around, is self-assure in yourself. How do you do this? You need to build confidence in an area and let that spill over. Set a plan, create small achievable goals, and start taking action. Convince yourself to not be outcome dependent. There are thing you can not influence, so do not make the goal something you cannot fully control. Rather, just reward yourself for taking action in the first place. You'll start to find that it's great to have mentors around you. They save you time and energy by giving you the information without you having to go learn it from scratch on our own.

Don't over think things. The last piece of advice I'll say, be present to the moment. You can literally STOP those thoughts in your head. How do you do this? Fully embrace the now. Read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Or read Meditation by Marcus Aurelius. Look into meditation. There are ways to ground yourself, embrace who you are, and stop that chattering voice in your head that honestly doesn't do much for you.

Just to give some more context, let me list out what I've tried so far:

• I've read through and took notes on [How to Win Friends and Influence People] (http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People-ebook/dp/B003WEAI4E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418222240&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+win+friends+and+influence+people), Awareness, and No More Mr. Nice Guy (Models is next, followed by the 7 Habits of Highly-Effective People).
  
• Done some social drills where I try to think of 5 compliments for each person in my head while talking to them
  
• I catch myself whenever I am being judgmental and immediately correct my train of thought.
  
• I quickly try to get people talking about what they do for fun as I think that's the best way to gauge what someone is really all about.
  
  Anything else I should try?

Being a night person is not the worst thing ever. All throughout college I was a night person (up till 5-6am and waking up at 1-2pm). Now I have made the transition to waking up at 4am almost everyday including weekends. If you are really dedicated to making the switch to mornings. My best advice would be to set multiple alarms (no joke like 5-6 different ones) to go off every couple of minutes, start picking up good habits in the morning(meditation/exercise/reading), and finding something to get you excited to wake up).

Another useful tool I have found is Wake-Up feature from the Hue lighting system. Waking up with the lights on already seems to be the key. But they are pricey.

Depends, which one's more important and more relevant to your current situation? Prioritize your list, then figure out what are the necessary steps you need to take to complete that task.
Once you complete task #1 for instance, not only do you have to maintain task #1, but now, you add on task #2 to tackle.

There are a lot of books out there to help you become more goal-oriented, 'Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy' and 'The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg' might help you make better habits in your life.

If there is a pattern, this would be it imo. I'm not a pro at this yet, but this is what works for me currently, and hopefully works for you too. Be patient, do what you're supposed to do, and results will follow.

The best bet is a good therapist. If the one you had wasn't working for you, look for another one. (My first therapist was not that helpful. The second one was gold.)

Something else that might help is a quality book written by a professional like Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy.

Your goal should be to feel good about yourself now. Start with reading, meditation and exercising. Do not make any of those activities too complicated, better to keep as simple as possible, firstly dedicate only 15min of your time per day. Then you start feeling better and your mind will become more functional towards your true desires.

I would see your current situation as a perfect opportunity, a time for yourself, for self growth and development. I really recommend starting your daily journal that you could observe yourself from different perspective and understand reasons for your problems, identify opportunities for improvements and get motivated by seeing what is working and what is not.

Start dreaming and believing, I know it could be hard, but you have to do it. You can open new roads that you never even imagined!


Books to look into

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Thinketh-Life-Changing-Classics-Pamphlet/dp/0937539562

http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Now-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577314808

http://www.amazon.com/Awaken-Giant-Within-Immediate-Emotional/dp/0671791540

No More Mr Nice Guy

It really helped me turn my life around and get more confidence, real confidence because it help me be okay with people not liking me.

Only americans think/care about having white teeth. You need to travel, nobpody cares what your teeth look like.

But since you asked you can get an at home whitening kit that the same ones the dentists use for like $20 on amazon. Works great.

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Teeth-Whitening-Thermoform-Instructions/dp/B00AEBYP0G/ref=sr_1_6?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1398089402&sr=1-6&keywords=tooth+whitening+gel

seriously: read the book No More Mr. Nice Guy it's awesome, very insightful and helpful. I just read it myself and can really recommend it

You're welcome. My dad's a G.P. and he got copies of these for every one in my family. They are amazing.

Other good ones to look at are:

• Mind Over Mood: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1462520421/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1454011886&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=mind+over+mood
  
  
• Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1572244259/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1454011970&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=get+out+of+your+mind+and+into+your+life
  
  
• The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1572244992/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?qid=1454012036&sr=8-10&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=act+therapy
  
  
• Full Catastrophe Living: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0345536932/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1454012108&sr=8-2&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=jon+kabat+zinn
  
  
• The Mayo Clinic Handbook For Happiness: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0738217859/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1454012206&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=happiness+mayo+clinic
  
  
• Man's Search for Meaning: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/080701429X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1454012401&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=man%27s+search+for+meaning
  
  
• Awareness - The Perils and Opportunities of Reality: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0385249373/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1454012475&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=anthony+de+mello
  
  And for a refreshingly new approach:
  
  
• F*ck Feelings - One Shrink's Practical Advice for Managing All Life's Impossible Problems: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1476789991/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1454012259&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=fuck+your+feelings
  

A whole lot, actually. Way more than can be said in this tiny box. You obviously have a very strong desire to change something about yourself, so I'm sure that you'd be willing to put in the time and effort to research making the improvements on yourself. My advice is to read The New Psycho-cybernetics by Max Maltz, edited by Dan S. Kennedy ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0735202850 ). The book is entirely about developing your self image in a manner in which you see fit for your own self. He speaks specifically about overcoming the issue you raised here, along with the underlying reasons that come with it.

Edit: I a word.

A lot of good suggestions here, but if you could only read one book that will really lead you to a happier life, by having you take actions and making realizations about where you are it's definitely:

"Get Out Of Your Mind and Into Your Life" by Steven Hayes

This book helped me a lot many years ago to gain a lot of confidence in myself.

New Psycho-Cybernetics

Learn about habit formation. Watch tiny habits or check out the subreddit Xeffect Or read Power of habit.

Then Start som good ones. 16 habits.

I would recommend starting with Meditation or exercise.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
/Aristotle

Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise

Explains why motivation is not everything and you should not depend on it. Makes easier to develop habits.

There's a great recent book on the subject, [The Charisma Myth] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Charisma-Myth-Personal-Magnetism/dp/1591845947) by Olivia Cabane.

Stop fapping, and even more so stop porn. It wires your brain to seek instant gratification, which is not what studying can give you. You might want to give up gaming and the Facebook newsfeed too, everything that consists of short action-reward-circuts.

Interesting reads: Your Brain On Porn by Gary Wilson ($5 Kindle), and The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg ($9 Kindle).

Edit: Added links

A different take on it but a great book! [Link] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WEAI4E/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003WEAI4E&linkCode=as2&tag=themodmarar00-20&linkId=MB4K4GCLQ5SXFNFB) for the lazy.

As mentioned about Carnegie is a must. Otherwise I'd recommend King, Warrior, Magician, Lover, Staying Healthy with the Seasons (some of the nutrition info is out dated but the core of the book is still great), The Book of Five Rings.

More economical version of the white strips.

For reference, I believe the strips are something like 5-10%.

These trays mold to your teeth.

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Teeth-Whitening-Thermoform-Instructions/dp/B00AEBYP0G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398071847&sr=8-1&keywords=carbamide+peroxide+kit

On top of the comments here these two books help breakdown mental and physical components of public speaking and how to overcome almost any obstacle:

http://www.amazon.com/Its-Way-You-Say-Well-spoken/dp/1609947436

http://www.amazon.com/The-Charisma-Myth-Personal-Magnetism/dp/1591845947

For overcoming depression and anxiety, Feeling Good is by far the most helpful book I have ever read. It's well written and gives you practical tips on how to boost self esteem, deal with guilt, and so on. I seriously can't recommend it enough; it has improved my well being significantly and I am less depressed because of it.

I would add Feeling Good under self-control, highly recommended.

Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina was the first self-improvement book I read and I really enjoyed it. It's pretty straight-forward and intelligently written. It's been a while since I read it, so I can't remember many specifics, but it helped me start to get my life back on track after being depressed for a while.

More recently, I read Mini Habits by Stephen Guise which really helped me with forming lasting habits.

You need to read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. It goes over the problem of overcoming resistance in creative endeavors (as well as life).

According to the book, you're approaching creativity as an amateur. You do it when it is fun, but when the going gets tough, you cave. The professional does his/her craft every single day, rain or shine.

On Anger, one of Seneca's essays, is the classic on this.

Read this book! You'll learn so much that your life will change. It changed mine.

Read this book, too, "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl: http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

An approachable, kick-in-the-ass type book whose advice is applicable for anything in life, art or not. I can't recommend this one enough for procrastinators and self-defeaters.