Becoming Who You Want to Be: The Role of Identity in Your Life

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I always knew meditation was something good.

Something worthwhile.

I never started until I adopted the Identity of a person who meditates every day.

Since that day, I never missed a session.

A person cannot rise above how he sees himself

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Hold up, what even is Identity?

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Your identity is created from a system of Ideas and beliefs.

If a new idea/belief “fits in” with your current system, this idea/belief will be accepted.

If not, it’s likely you’re rejecting it.

This system is what you call identity.

One of the biggest mistakes most people make here is that they confuse their behavior with themselves.

They say I am a failure instead of I failed.

More often than not, this will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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How Identity Shapes Your Everyday Life

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Every action you take every feeling you feel even the skills you got

Are all consistent with your identity

Your identity is formed by experience, which means it can be changed by experience

The best personality someone can adopt is one that allows you to fully express yourself while gaining satisfaction from achieving your goals.

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Identity change in a nutshell

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Your Identity changes every day, whether you notice it or not.

Some events can change your identity almost in an instant

For example graduating from uni, finishing an apprenticeship, or getting that new job

These events all have something in common, they are the result of something you worked several years towards

This results in social proof (society acknowledges what you have achieved) because of that, you get lots of positive reinforcement.

This all contributes to massive confidence and the fact that this Idea becomes a part of your identity.

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For example:

You are now a graduated human you believe it, everyone around you believes it.

Why should there be any doubt left?

You are what you believe you are

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Keep in mind, that these events are just able to change our Identity so quickly because they make us truly believe something

Social proof is one of the fastest ways to truly believe something, we are social creatures after all

This means, if you can truly believe in your desired identity, you can recreate this effect and be able to change your identity on your own.

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The Power of Mental Pictures

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Here comes the big part

If you vividly imagine something, your nervous system cannot tell the difference between what happened and what has been imagined.

This is worth repeating.

If you vividly imagine something in your head, it’s like you just experienced it.

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That’s a double-edged sword.

If you think of something good, your body will act accordingly.

If you think of something bad, your body also acts accordingly.

When you become aware of this fact, you can start to use it to your advantage.

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For example:

Whenever you feel fear, you recall memories from your past when you felt grateful.

Now watch your fear leaving the room.

You can’t feel scared if you feel grateful.

Many people don’t know that the opposite of fear is gratitude.

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Your identity has the power to shape your life. You can influence it through conscious effort. With the right mindset and practices, you can create an identity that reflects your best self.

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Thanks for reading my 2nd newsletter :)

Cheers,

Niklas