A powerful but simple way to change who you are.
I knew a Japanese guy who did just enough in his job to stay employed in his Japanese company. He was a salesman and always missed his quotas. He just floated from year to year without changing anything in his life even though he wanted to do so.
By chance, he went to a weekend self-improvement camp and came back with a totally new personality. He looked and acted more confidently.
He started hitting his quotas and became a completely new person and eventually moved to a new company, and I heard he was very happy and doing well.
I also remember a friend in university who lived down the hall from me in the dorm. He loved to drink and party, and he rarely studied. He found God, and overnight, he became a totally different person. He quit partying and became a very serious student.
I was a little shocked by how quickly these two people changed, but they were not the only ones. I have met others and have also come across many stories of others who suddenly became new people.
The big takeaway from these stories is that the person let go of their old self-identity and adopted a new self-identity.
I wondered if I could do this myself and decided to let go of the old me and adopt a new me. After taking on the challenge, I found that it had a profound impact on my life.
First, I will tell you why taking on a new identity is effective, and then I’ll show you how you can quickly implement this into your life starting today.
Why Creating a New Identity is Effective
It frees you from your past.
We all carry the weight of past failures and events that shaped who we are today. These weigh upon us when we try to make change.
We worry that we will fail again. We worry that we are not capable enough. We worry about what others think.
When you tell yourself that you are a new person, you have the choice to accept new beliefs. You can unlock the chains of your past holding you back.
For me, I felt that I was no longer tied to the stories of my past. I felt a new freedom. This feeling of freedom helped me in many ways to improve my life.
This sudden shift in my mindset was very powerful.
It’s like starting over.
When I let go of the old me, I realized that I had just given myself permission to react and behave in new ways. I no longer had to protect that little boy who got separated from his mom, or the young boy who was bullied for being part Asian.
Also, my old self was used to saying yes to certain friends and situations because I wanted to please people. I also liked to please myself and would give in to my excuses for putting things off.
Instead of reacting to how people or the old me expected me to behave, I started behaving according to the new values I associated with my new identity. I was able to start over and was no longer tied to my old identity.
I had the choice of creating a new script instead of running on the old one.
It’s easier to let go of bad habits.
Many bad habits are linked to ways of coping with stress and anxiety. We drink, go out to parties, and find ways to waste time so that we can dull the negative emotions we are feeling.
When reflecting on my bad habits, I saw that they were my way of coping with anxiety and stress of trying to change and become something better.
Any time I started to fall into a bad habit, I told myself that those bad habits were connected to my old self, and this made it easier to focus on the new habits I was wanting to create around my new identity. Reminding myself that the old self was gone, it reduced the emotional impact of what I was feeling, making it easier to implement new habits and let go of old ones.
Creating a stronger mindset is easier.
I used to get frustrated because I had so many things to learn and to do. I felt that I couldn’t do them all.
When I killed that old me, I also killed that old voice in my head.
I simply reminded myself that those thoughts were the old me and that the new me was capable of doing new things.
This helped me to create a stronger mindset.
It frees up your mind to see good things.
Whatever you focus on, you will find. If you focus on all the bad things in your life, they are easy to find. And when you procrastinate all the time, it becomes easier and easier to berate yourself for all the bad things you are doing.
One day after implementing my new character, I caught myself being irritated and thinking about things that were not going well. In the past, this probably would have set me on the road of rumination.
After reminding myself that I was a new person, I remembered that I had the choice to react as I wanted. I thought about the good things that were happening in my life, and I was able to quickly dispel the negative thoughts that had creeped into my head.
This new me helped me to see the good things going on in my life, making me feel more grateful and positive.
A Guide to Help You Quickly Create a New Identity
If you want to create a new identity, here are some simple steps that you can follow.
First, you must make the decision to let go of the old you.
This means that you must quit being a victim. This means that you must quit focusing on your past failures. Most importantly, it means you must let go of excuses.
Write down all those things on paper that you want to let go of connected to the old you. That paper is a symbol of the old you.
Thank the old you, because the old you got you to this point today. You had experiences both good and bad who shaped who you are today. Once you have acknowledged and thanked the old you, burn, bury, or tear up the paper. Symbolically, let your old self go.
Next, create a new identity.
On a sheet of paper, write out what you want your new identity to be. What are your values and new habits? Envision how you would act and feel and write it out as if it were already true in the present tense.
Read this every day. Carry it on your phone and in your pocket. Any time you have down time, read it until you have memorized it. Keep saying it.
The more you repeat this to yourself, the quicker you will become that new person.
Use this simple phrase each day.
“The old me is dead. I am reborn, and this is who I am now.”
Every single time I catch myself falling back into my old ways, I repeat that phrase. I start thinking about my values and what I wrote on the paper.
Repeating this is powerful and reminds me of who I am striving to be. It allows me to let go of the past.
When you encounter difficulties.
There will be times when the old you will pop up. Old habits do rear their ugly head. You might feel that you want to give up or start again another day.
When you start to have these feelings, remind yourself that the old you was tied to the identity of failure, but that your new identity is tied to consistent work and self-improvement.
With repetition, the new you will start to take over, and this will lead to achievement and success.
A Challenge
I challenge you to try it for 10 days. I bet that you will see profound changes in your life.
First, keep it simple and focus on a few key areas of improvement that you want to implement into your new identity. Focus on reading and behaving as what you wrote for 10 days. Remind yourself all the time, especially when you face challenges, that the old you is dead and that you have been reborn.
Commit to it publicly down below in the comments by writing “committed.” Save this, and once you have finished your deadline, come back and write a follow up on how it went.
Maybe your current self is saying that you wouldn’t publicly commit, but embrace being a new person and let everyone know that you have committed to becoming better.
I am looking forward to hearing your feedback on how it went.
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