Hey everyone,
Since October 14th 2023, Iāve been aiming to write every day.
I started with a goal of 300 words each day and at Christmas I increased it to 500 words.
There have been 147 days since I started, and Iāve hit my goal on 102 of them. A success rate of around 70% (I use an app called Streaks to track it).
But despite the fact that Iāve kept going, Iāve been approaching it the wrong way.
The core philosophy of James Clearās book Atomic Habits is that identity drives behaviour.
If youāre trying to quit smoking and someone offers you a cigarette, donāt say āIām trying to quit smokingā instead say āI am not a smokerā.
(Without sounding pretentious if you can.)
Iām trying to quit ā Iām deciding on the spot.
I am not a smoker ā Therefore I donāt smoke.
Thereās a profound difference between these two statements. This idea explains why itās so hard to a) achieve goals we set for ourselves and b) sustain our efforts after we hit a goal.
With my writing goal, I've been determined enough that I have managed to stick to it without intentionally setting an identity shift.
As a result thereās been a surprising side effect (which I couldāve anticipated at the start).
Iāve had to becomeā¦
wait for itā¦
ā¦a writer.
Woah!
A writer you say. A disgusting revelation.
Itās shocked me as much as Iām sure itās shocked you.
I realised this a few weeks ago when I felt weirdly ok with the idea of calling myself a writer.
I set out to write every day because I wanted to share more about was I was learning at work, not because I wanted to become a writer.
But at some point, Iād written so regularly that it felt more natural to say that.
This is why setting goals and achieving them is so hard.
You have to become the type of person who does that thing.
If you want to write more, you have to become a writer.
If you want to learn Italian, you have to become someone who speaks Italian.
If you want to run a marathon, you have to become someone who runs (and is insane).
It sounds semantic but itās not.
There is a journey you go on when you set out to achieve a goal.
Set goal ā new behaviour ā new habit ā new mindset ā different person.
This is the challenge.
You have to become a different person.
You have to become someone who does that thing.
You have to change.
And change is not easy. It takes consistent effort in the face of uncertainty, doubt and failure.
You have to believe that you can become that person. If you donāt believe it, you give up.
But at some point, when youāve taken consistent action for long enough, itās just who you are.
You donāt go for a run because youāre trying to hit a new 5k PB, you go for a run because thatās who you are.
You donāt meditate because youāre trying to maintain the habit, you meditate because being mindful is who you are. You meditate as a result.
So when I set out on my writing journey, I shouldāve approached it knowing that I would have to become a writer for this to work long term. And importantly, believed that I could become one.
This is the secret to creating lasting change in your life. If you finally want to become someone who does a certain thing, you have to lead with identity and take actions to step into it.
The change is slow and painful, often for months, but at some point the difference between the person you were and the person you are today is unrecognisable.
So thatās where Iām trying to get to.
I love writing, and Iām curious enough to commit to writing every day, to the point where it just becomes what I do. And as a happy side effect I also hit my word count goal each day and produce a large volume of work over time.
An interesting reflection to think about here is where has this change already happened in your life? Who have you recently become?
Reply or comment and let me know!
Have an epic week!
P.s. I wrote about starting my writing experiment in October in this newsletter issue here.
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Let me introduce you to this super fun concept in writing: itās called the paragraph and itās a powerful way of communicating the organization of your thinking. Try it! Youāll like it!
You're such a great writer!! You have a real gift. There are very few things I read these days that are long enough to provide depth - but not long winded. Congrats on the great work you're doing with this newsletter.