Do you identify as a runner?

I bet you do. Even when you’re injured, and unable to run, do you still think of yourself as a runner?

Interestingly, studies have shown that those who actually identify and call themselves a “runner” are more likely to actually get out and run. They’re much more likely to get back to running after an injury or hiatus.

Crazy eh?! The power of words and identity.

How we think of ourselves, and talk to ourselves in our head, is absolutely crucial in forming and keeping the habits we want.

This is so helpful and powerful to know and understand. 

It means that whenever you find a new habit you want to introduce, you can short cut your way to success with it simply by talking to yourself and identifying as the type of person who already has that habit ingrained in their life.

Take Pilates for example.  I don’t think of myself as someone who tries to include Pilates in training.  I see myself as a Pilates person who uses it as a lifestyle.  I see myself as someone who uses it as the foundation for all the other activities that I do, from running to dancing, climbing and playing with the kids.

It is so much a part of my identity that it never even crosses my mind that I wouldn’t do it in some form or another on the daily.

Funny thing is, it’s a positive cycle too.  When we do Pilates sessions we move better and feel better, endorsing the decision to identify as a “Pilates person”, and therefore reinforcing not only that identity but the likelihood we’ll keep doing it.

Not sure where to start in changing your “identity”? Check out next week’s newsletter for easy ways to help create and reinforce your new chosen identity!

---

Try your 7 day free trial here