Identity-based Habits

Building these habits means focusing on the type of person you wish to become rather than the outcome you wish to achieve.

Your current behaviors are simply a reflection of your current identity. To change your behavior for good, you need to start believing new things about yourself...

The beliefs you have about yourself can drive your long-term behavior.

You could trick yourself into going to the gym or eating healthy once or twice, but if you don't shift your underlying identity, then it's hard to stick with long-term changes.

Imagining two people resisting cigarette. When offered a smoke, the first person says, “No thanks. I’m trying to quit.” The second person declines by saying, “No thanks. I’m not a smoker.”

 It’s a small difference, but this statement signals a shift in identity. Smoking was part of their fo...