The Power Behind Habit - IDENTITY!
I’ve been reading a great book recently called “Atomic Habits”, by James Clear, and it had a powerful story. It detailed how a young man was wanting to lose weight (wow can so relate!) and how he was encouraged to attend a gym 5 times a week, even it was just for 5 minutes.
So he did.
He began to form a habit of going to the gym. After staying 5 minutes he would say to himself … ahh .. that’s enough and go home. Now you might think that this isn’t a big deal … but what was also happening was his identity started to change. He was becoming … “a gym guy”.
Now after 2 weeks he thought … well if I’m here … I might as well do something.
So he did.
Then after 2 more weeks, the habit of going to the gym was beginning to take solid root and after 60 days the reinforcement was really solid. He missed a day here and there but he never missed two in a row. And he started to lose weight. He started to watch what he was eating and this escalated dramatically … till finally, he had lost around 20kgs. What a solid effort! This was all built on habit & identity!
The thing that intrigued me as a psychologist was that the real motivating factor for him was that he was connecting with the identity of being a gym guy. He was aligning his health goals with an identity that was … well … healthy. This concept is backed up seriously with the research currently around neuroplasticity and positive psychology in the psychology science world. Along the lines of what we focus on is what our brain wires towards, when neurons fire together, wire together. The other concept this connects with, as pioneered by Jeffrey Swartz, is that when we focus on our identities it actually can rewire our brain towards that identity.
So my question today is who do you want to be? And are your habits aligned with that identity?
Hope this helps you today!
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Exciting news! We have a new psychologist starting this month at Next Step Psychology & Counselling! Her name is Anna Madigan-Singh and she has over 23+ years as a psychologist and counsellor!!!
Please contact us if you would like to book an appointment with Anna! Please be quick because she is filling up fast!
