IDENTITY EMERGES FROM OUR HABITS – BECOME A MODERN-DAY SPARTAN

Our identity emerges from our habits. Our actions are not a product of our character. Instead, our character is a manifestation of our habits, or as Aristotle more eloquently stated, “We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.” Repeated actions create our identity the same way a bricklayer builds a structure, one brick at a time, stacked one upon another. Each action by itself is inconsequential, but together, they make us who we are. Continue reading IDENTITY EMERGES FROM OUR HABITS – BECOME A MODERN-DAY SPARTAN

Discover a Surprising Willpower Mantra that Actually Works!

Ego Depletion (Illustrations by Ted Slampyak)

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USE THE POWER OF LANGUAGE TO REINFORCE YOUR IDENTITY

“A powerful agent is the right word. Whenever we come upon one of those intensely right words … the resulting effect is physical as well as spiritual, and electrically prompt.” Mark Twain

Have you ever told someone you can’t have a piece of cake because you were on a diet or that you can’t go to lunch because you need to go to the gym? If you have, you are probably feeling pretty good about yourself right now. What if I told you that the language used in these two examples is weak? Confused? Don’t be. I will explain how the right words will improve your willpower, bolster your self-esteem, and make overcoming temptations easier. Continue reading “Discover a Surprising Willpower Mantra that Actually Works!”

The Relationship between Habits & Identity

Behaviors that are incongruent with our identity don’t last. I would argue that if they persist, they will change our identity. At that point, the two will realign themselves. A simple litmus test for determining if a habit is good or bad is the resulting identity it produces. If the habit is a vote for the type of person you want to become, it is a good habit. If it doesn’t, it isn’t. 

Identity and habits work in a push-pull manner. We can harness the power of identity to adopt a more disciplined lifestyle. Continue reading The Relationship between Habits & Identity

IDENTITY EMERGES FROM OUR HABITS

Our identity is born of habit. Our beliefs about ourselves emerge from our routines. The behaviors we exhibit repeatedly define our character. The definition and etymology of the words habit and identity provide insights into the relationship between the two. Webster’s definition of a habit is a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition. The word habit is derived from the Latin habitus meaning condition. A habit is, therefore, a conditioned pattern acquired through repetition. The definition of identity is the sameness of character in different instances. Identity derives from the Latin identidem meaning repeatedly, again and again. Later it was abbreviated to idem, meaning sameness. Our identity is our sameness of character in a variety of circumstances.  Continue reading IDENTITY EMERGES FROM OUR HABITS

WE ARE ALL CAPABLE OF CHANGE

We all have the power to change who we are. Not immediately. It takes time. It took time to develop into the person we are, and it will take time to become the person we want to be. Our identity emerges from our habits. Every action casts a vote for the type of person we want to become. Each action is another piece of evidence supporting that identity. If you play an instrument once, you cannot call yourself a musician, but if you played every day, you could. Even if you only practiced 10-minutes a day, if that practice was purposeful, you would see improvement. In time, you and everyone you know would have to agree you are a musician. Habits hold the key to unlocking our potential as human beings. 

As human beings, our greatest gift is our capacity to transform ourselves through our habits Continue reading WE ARE ALL CAPABLE OF CHANGE