How to Change a Habit for Good
Change is hard.
When it comes to changing your habits, start with one simple thing. Small changes made over time, can lead to massive results!
Change can occur at different levels, but for sustained success with your habits you must first change your beliefs about yourself and your identity.
Instead of saying I want to lose 20 lbs or I want to be healthier, the alternative is to build identity based goals. Decided who do I need to become to get healthier, stronger and lose weight.
Changing your beliefs isn’t nearly as hard as you might think. There are two steps.
Decide the type of person you want to be.
Prove it to yourself with small wins.
And that’s just one of the many life-changing lessons I learned from James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits”.
In my experience, when you want to become better at something, proving your identity to yourself is far more important than getting amazing results. This is especially true at first.
If you want to get motivated and inspired, then feel free to watch a YouTube video, listen to your favorite song, and do P90X. But don’t be surprised if you burn out after a week. You can’t rely on being motivated. You have to become the type of person you want to be, and that starts with proving your new identity to yourself.
Most people (myself included) will want to become better this year. Many of us, however, will set performance- and appearance-based goals in hopes that they will drive us to do things differently.
If you’re looking to make a change, then I say stop worrying about results and start worrying about your identity. Become the type of person who can achieve the things you want to achieve. Build identity-based habits now. The results can come later.
Thanks for reading🙂
-Phil