You are where you are in life right now because of the habits you have. People form habits and habits form people. But, most importantly habits form futures.

How in shape or out of shape you are, how successful or unsuccessful you are, how happy or unhappy you are right now are all based upon your current behaviors and the identity you believe about yourself.

If you want to improve your life you must improve your daily habits and upgrade your current identity.

You are the kind of person you are because you have formed the habit of being that kind of person, and the only way you can change is through creating new habits. Change your habits and you will transform your life.

Unfortunately, and fortunately, often times your beliefs are old and out dated, and are no longer worthy of who you are and who you are becoming.

So, to change your beliefs/behaviors, for good you need to start believing new empowering things about yourself. By doing this you will create a new identity.

So how do you do this? Well it is easier than you think. Beliefs are only thoughts that have been reinforced. A belief is not necessarily true. It is only what you believe to be true.

For instance, when you were younger you probably believed that a particular movie was the best movie ever and there is nothing that could be better than it because it had a lot of action and you loved the actors in it. And as you got older I’m sure that you love another movie now and love the graphics and the way it is filmed.

Or, you believed that, let’s say, chocolate ice cream was the best ice cream flavor in the world and nothing came close to it because that is what all your friends liked. But, then you triedRocky Road while you were on vacation at the beach with family and loved it even more and now it is your favorite and nothing tastes as good. Do you see what I’m getting at?

Beliefs change. And it’s okay if beliefs change, as long as you make them change for the better.

You see, belief is like table. The more legs a table has the stronger it becomes. The same holds true to a belief. The more you reinforce it with ideas and supporting details, the stronger it becomes.

Changing beliefs in two steps:

1. Decide the type of person you want to be.

2. Reinforce that new version of yourself with small wins.

The goal at first is not to achieve results, it is to prove to yourself that you are that type of person that can achieve results.

Goal: Lose weight

New Identity: Someone who physically moves more everyday

Small Reinforcing Habit: Use an app on your phone and track your steps per day. Begin to walk 1000 steps a day and increase it every week. Once you see that you walk 1000 steps everyday you will reinforce the new belief/new identity that you are someone who moves everyday and gets exercise everyday.

Once you do this the new identity will make it easy for you to lose weight because you now believe that you are physically active everyday.

Goal: Overcome fear of talking to females

New Identity: Someone who talks to the females easily and often

Small Reinforcing Habit: Start by saying hello and giving an honest compliment to females when you are at a register paying for an item. Once you begin to do this over and over you reinforce the fact that you can talk to females whenever you are out.

Over time it will come natural to say hello to females and give a compliment and start a conversation.

I can’t emphasis this to much, start small.

Start with something you can’t say “no” to. Because what you can’t say “no” to gets done easily. And what gets done easily gets repeated. And what gets repeated reinforces a belief and creates new habits and new identities which in-turn upgrade lives.

You are Stronger Than Failure,

Danny Cole