Use the Psychology of Self-Image to Transform Your Habits for Good

One of the most effective ways to change your behaviour is to change your identity: Changing the way you see yourself.

Our perception of who we are—our identity or self-image—has a dramatic effect on our future actions.

Self-image is a cognitive shortcut that helps our brains make otherwise difficult choices in advance, thereby streamlining the decision-making process.

By aligning our behaviours with our identity, we make choices based on who we want to be.

To do this, start by identifying the behaviour you want to stop. For example, say you’d like to stop eating meat. For people who view themselves as meat-eaters trying to quit, the task of cutt...