We all have a sense of identity, of who we are.
For instance, you might be an American. You might also be a parent. You could be a spouse too. You could be a writer.
Some parts of our identity are given to us and fixed, but others we choose on our own – often without realizing we’re making a choice.
So, let’s think about the choices we make that affect our identity. What are those choices based on?
I believe they’re based on what we want – and how we limit our chances of success by misidentifying ourselves.
Let’s say you have a goal of staying on an exercise program. You could express that in terms of an outcome, like “I want to stay on the exercise program.” But the problem with outcomes is that we can’t always control them, then we feel like failures and, too often, give up.
But what if you switched from the OUTCOME to the IDENTITY by saying, “I’m the kind of person who enjoys staying on an exercise program.”
Next, reverse-engineer the process by asking, What does that kind of person do? And then start doing those things.
So, instead of thinking that “maintaining an exercise program” is something you want someday, you adapt the goal as part of your identity. You’re the kind of person who can maintain the exercise program, and you’re doing the things that those people do. Success follows the actions, which follow the shift in how you think about yourself.
You can follow this process with anything you desire, like this.
“I want to go to Paris someday, but I’ll never be able to afford it” easily becomes, “I’m the kind of person who saves $50 a week so I can go on a nice vacation once a year.”
I know you’re the kind of person with powerful emotions, an awesome track record, and the mindset to make things happen for yourself and others. Build on that identity!
