Your habits are how you embody your identity.
- When you make your bed each day, you embody the identity of an organized person.
- When you write each day, you embody the identity of a creative person.
- When you train each day, you embody the identity of an athletic person.
WHY IT MATTERS: The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior.
GO DEEPER: In fact, the word identity was originally derived from the Latin words essentitas, which means being, and identidem, which means repeatedly. Your identity is literally your “repeated beingness.”
Whatever your identity is right now, you only believe it because you have proof of it.
- If you go to church every Sunday for twenty years, you have evidence that you are religious.
- If you study biology for one hour every night, you have evidence that you are studious.
- If you go to the gym even when it’s snowing, you have evidence that you are committed to fitness.
The more evidence you have for a belief, the more strongly you'll believe it.
We change bit by bit, day by day, habit by habit.
We are continually undergoing microevolutions of the self.
Each habit is like a suggestion: “Hey, maybe this is who I am.”
- If you finish a book, then perhaps you are the type of person who likes reading.
- If you go to the gym, then perhaps you are the type of person who likes exercise.
- If you practice playing the guitar, perhaps you are the type of person who likes music.
Every action you take shapes the person you want to be. Even though one action won't change your beliefs, when these actions pile up, they create your new identity. This shows why you don't need massive changes to make a big difference, you just need consistent action in the right direction.
HABITS ARE THE PATH TO CHANGING YOUR IDENTITY
The most practical way to change who you are is to change what you do.
- Each time you write a page, you are a writer.
- Each time you practice the violin, you are a musician.
- Each time you start a workout, you are an athlete.
- Each time you encourage your employees, you are a leader.
Each habit not only gets results but also teaches you something far more important: to trust yourself. You start to believe you can actually accomplish these things. When the votes mount up and the evidence begins to change, the story you tell yourself begins to change as well.
Of course, it works the opposite way, too. Every time you choose to perform a bad habit, it’s a vote for that identity. The good news is that you don’t need to be perfect. In any election, there are going to be votes for both sides. You don’t need a unanimous vote to win an election; you just need a majority. It doesn’t matter if you cast a few votes for a bad behavior or an unproductive habit. Your goal is simply to win the majority of the time.
NEW IDENTITIES REQUIRE NEW EVIDENCE.
If you keep casting the same votes you’ve always cast, you’re going to get the same results you’ve always had. If nothing changes, nothing is going to change.
It is a simple two-step process:
- Decide the type of person you want to be.
- Prove it to yourself with small wins.
First, decide who you want to be. This holds at any level—as an individual, as a team, as a community, as a nation.
- What do you want to stand for?
- What are your principles and values?
- Who do you wish to become?
These are big questions, and many people aren’t sure where to begin—but they do know what kind of results they want: to get six-pack abs or to feel less anxious or to double their salary. That’s fine. Start there and work backward from the results you want to the type of person who could get those results. Ask yourself, “Who is the type of person that could get the outcome I want?” Who is the type of person that could lose forty pounds? Who is the type of person that could learn a new language? Who is the type of person that could run a successful start-up? For example, “Who is the type of person who could write a book?” It’s probably someone who is consistent and reliable. Now your focus shifts from writing a book (outcome-based) to being the type of person who is consistent and reliable (identity-based).
This process can lead to beliefs like:
- “I’m the kind of teacher who stands up for her students.”
- “I’m the kind of doctor who gives each patient the time and empathy they need.”
- “I’m the kind of manager who advocates for her employees.”
Once you have a handle on the type of person you want to be, you can begin taking small steps to reinforce your desired identity. I have a friend who lost over 100 pounds by asking herself, “What would a healthy person do?” All day long, she would use this question as a guide. Would a healthy person walk or take a cab? Would a healthy person order a burrito or a salad? She figured if she acted like a healthy person long enough, eventually she would become that person. She was right.
THE REAL REASON HABITS MATTER
Identity change is the North Star of habit change.
You have the power to change your beliefs about yourself. Your identity is not set in stone. You have a choice in every moment. You can choose the identity you want to reinforce today with the habits you choose today. And this brings us to the deeper purpose of why habits matter.
Building better habits isn’t about littering your day with life hacks. It’s not about flossing one tooth each night or taking a cold shower each morning or wearing the same outfit each day. It’s not about achieving external measures of success like earning more money, losing weight, or reducing stress. Habits can help you achieve all of these things, but fundamentally they are not about having something. They are about becoming someone.
Ultimately, your habits matter because they help you become the type of person you wish to be. They are the channel through which you develop your deepest beliefs about yourself. Quite literally, you become your habits.
More tomorrow,
Hunter
More tomorrow,
Hunter