Becoming “That Guy (or Girl)”

By Shane Sauer

The month of September is almost over. Have you built any positive new habits for your fall routine?

If yes, congratulations! I hope my tips for celebrating success and dealing with failure have been helpful.

If no, this email will help you get in the right mindset to keep working on it.

Here’s the hard truth, habit change is really challenging. Change requires a lot of mental energy because your brain is resistant to it.

Yeah, I recognize how frustrating that is! There’s even a term for it now, “Imposter Syndrome”.

All of the tips I have been giving to you are just different routes to help you change how you view yourself. Because once you stop viewing yourself as an imposter, your brain stops resisting change and begins working with you.

To understand this a little better, consider these examples:

• Exercise: “I’m going to run more” versus “I’m a runner”

• Business: “I want to start my own business” versus “I’m an entrepreneur”

• Diet: “I should eat less” versus “I’m an intermittent faster”

• Sports: “I play golf” versus “I’m a golfer”

In each example, you are moving from a concept to an identity. When your goals become an identity, there is no internal conflict that requires willpower to overcome. It is simply the thing you do.

This process is easier for some people than others because of their personality. But no matter which category describes you, there is always a pathway to becoming who you want to be.

To aid you on this journey, remember these key things:

• Change is hard and fighting within yourself is normal

• Small consistent success forms your new identity

• Celebrating success creates an emotional tie to that identity

• Environment and community have huge implications on your success and identity

No matter what tools you use or what path you take, remember that changing habits for the long term is a process of internal change as well as external.

Hopefully, this information inspires you to continue working on becoming “that guy (or girl)”. But if you feel like you could still benefit from some help, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to be a guide.