In a recent blog post I mentioned how the way you identify yourself (how you see and talk about yourself) has an enormous impact on how you behave.

For example, those who called themselves runners are more likely to get out and run, and to return to it after an injury or hiatus.

How you identify ultimately impacts what habits you maintain and how successful you are at achieving whatever you set out to do.

Afterall…….habits = actions = results

So if how we identify and talk about ourselves is so important, then what are the ways in which we can support and reinforce the identity and habits we want?

I promised last week to give you some tips one how to do this, so here are 3 easy ways!

1. Watch your Words – most importantly the words you use to talk about yourself and to yourself.  This isn’t always easy to do at the start so try;

• reflecting on the last few conversations you’ve had recently. Both with yourself and others. How did you describe or talk about/to yourself, what language did you use, how did you view yourself?
• then try to catch yourself in the moment.  If you find yourself labelling yourself as “not really a runner” or “trying to do x,y or z”  
• now try actively changing your language e.g. instead of saying “I am trying to do a short Pilates session everyday” to “I’ve added in short daily Pilates sessions, it’s going really well”

2. Community – Surround yourself with others who have similar goals and daily habits.  We’re social creatures, and for good or bad we’re often easily influenced by others around us.  So make the conscious decision to surround yourself with others who are doing what you want to do, and have habits you want to emulate.  You can do that physically (e.g. join your local running club) or virtually (e.g. joining the PfR community on Facebook, Instagram or on the app!)

3. How we vote – James Clear is one of my favourite authors (highly recommend his weekly email if you don’t already receive it).  He talks about every action you take being a vote for the type of person you want to be, and the huge compound impact of those small actions and votes. So think about how your small actions are voting.  As I said last week, starting small is a great way to get going and to stay consistent for the compound impacts. 

Conclusion

• Join the Pilates for Runners community!
• Do the short daily “10 Minute Total” sessions to get going (there’s some free ones on the app and YouTube)
• Vote for the runner who moves better, feels better and runs stronger!

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