Recently, I was lucky enough to sit down with Dianna Anderson, CEO of Cylient. Dianna helps leaders transform into growth-oriented coaches. She tells me she does this be working to help shift leaders’ world views on what it means to lead. She shared an image she uses when training these leaders. It is of a tree where the roots are labeled beliefs and the trunk and branches are labeled actions. I love this metaphor. Our actions are rooted in our beliefs. Also, our beliefs are our anchor – for better or worse! Finally, using this metaphor, you can’t change your actions in any sustainable way unless you change your beliefs. Powerful!
Beliefs can drive habits
I’ve been on a habit kick recently and am going to keep going for a few more posts. I think Dianna’s beautiful metaphor deeply applies here as well. Habits are subconscious routines that help us get through the day. Changing them can be very hard because most of us are rarely in conscious control of what we’re doing.
For example, I have been working on writing every day. I very much want this to be a life-long habit that is at the subconscious level… like breathing or waking up in the morning and checking the news on my phone.
There are so many reasons to not stick to a habit. It is easy to come up with great ones. I have a sick cat, I need to drop my wife at the airport, I’m in the middle of figuring out with my team if we should spin a new company out of our existing company, I’m shifting my role at the company I love and founded back in 2002, and I am in negotiations to join an early startup. All of this is weighing on me and competing for my attention.
I bet you came up with five better reasons than mine while reading that last paragraph. We are all experts here. Our brains are masters of this.
Define your identity to shape your behaviors
Going back to the well that is James Clear’s Atomic Habits, the easiest way to master the habit of showing up is to tie your identity to your habit. It’s not that I want to write. It’s not that I will write. It’s not that I want great things to come from my writing. It’s that I am the kind of person who writes. Because of that, I am the kind of person who finds the opportunity to write.
Clear talks about this in the context of layers of behavioral changes: outcomes, processes, and identity. Outcomes – things like publishing a book, losing weight, or improving the lives of one million entrepreneurs, are inspiring goals, but pretty far away from today. They are the mountains we want to move. Process is all about habits and systems: going to the gym or writing daily. This is the “shoveling” – ie, the day-to-day activities that will move that mountain.
The third layer of behavioral change, identity, is that which defines your “worldview, self-image, your judgments about yourself and others.” Clear argues that all layers are good and important, but identity-based habits are the stickiest because “your behaviors are usually a reflection of your identity.” Behaviors are rooted in our identity, our worldview.
Looking back on my life, the decisions that have been the easiest for me are the ones where I can say to myself “that is just who I am” or “that’s not who I am.”
What are the beliefs you hold true about yourself, your relationships, the world? How do they shape your actions? These are uncomfortably powerful question to ask yourself.
Dear future self:
Big goals are great. Getting them done requires alignment with my worldview. Make sure my identity is in alignment with what I want to give back to the world.