Personal Identifiers

How you view yourself at an identity level shapes the person you are. By thinking of yourself in a certain way habits can form. This perpetuates the cycle of your identity defining your actions and then reinforcing your identity. Forming personal identities with yourself also helps you shape yourself into the person you want to be. At a fundamental level telling yourself you are someone that “does ___” or “is ___” helps you embody those ideas.

I am someone who enjoys learning.

I am someone who reads.

I am a runner.

These are personal identifiers I tell myself. As a result, my habits morph to reinforce these ideas. I try to watch or read informational content about material I do not know almost every day. I read almost every day. If I do not read, my day feels weird. I have running goals and have adapted my habits to include running on a nearly daily basis. You may have noticed I said “almost every day” when describing all three of these. You do not need to be in a constant, everyday cycle to redefine who you are. Think of the bigger picture and imagine what 4, 5, or 6 days a week means over the long term.

I also have leaned into the idea that I am a writer. I started this newsletter to practice my writing skill on a daily basis because it was something I wanted to include in my life. Identifying myself as a writer has made this daily habit much easier. I now know writing is something I just do.

At the same time, I have personal identifiers I need to lean into more. This is where linking my identifiers into habits can then reinforce my identity. For example, I want to learn Spanish to become fluent. By saying “I am someone who speaks Spanish” I need to turn around and become someone who practices every day in order to make that identity true.

I have noticed telling yourself you are someone who “does ___” or “is ___” helps redefine the journey needed to get to that point. In telling yourself you are someone who maintains a healthy lifestyle, you will not stop after one workout. In telling yourself you are a photographer, you will learn to practice that craft on a daily basis. By redefining how you view yourself you will begin to see the daily wins, the 1% better, and how showing up every day leads to the ultimate goal. You will no longer fall into the trap of “I finished this book, now I’m done reading.” Or “I finished this painting, I am done painting.” Or “I ran that race, I am done running.” You will instead pick up another book because you are a reader. You will paint something else because you are an artist. You will run another race because you are a runner. Habits do not stop when you identify as that person. You will keep going and exceed new personal expectations.