Monday Motivation - Tiny Changes
Changing our behavior can be challenging. You've probably noticed that!
We at RISE have been obsessed over the past several years to learn everything we can about the science of behavior change. We want it for our lives, and it’s our great joy and privilege to be able to share the learnings with YOU!
This week we wanted to feature an excerpt from the bestselling book Atomic Habits by James Clear – as it is one of the best written texts of how to transform our lives one simple step at a time…
"We all want to become better people — stronger and healthier, more creative and more skilled, a better friend or family member.
But even if we get really inspired and start doing things better, it's tough to actually stick to new behaviors. It's more likely that this time next year you'll be doing the same thing than performing a new habit with ease.
Why is that? And is there anything you can do to make change easier?
What you do now is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously).
To change your behavior for good, you need to start believing new things about yourself. You need to build identity-based habits.
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.
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?”
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. 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 will come.”
We’ve been more than inspired by James Clear’s work, and all of our core programs have integrated his research on identity based-habits as a foundation. The results have been amazing!
