The Habit of Being You

Dr. Joe Dispenza said in a video I watched recently… “The average human thinks 60,000 thoughts per day, and less than 1,000 of those thoughts are any different than yesterday’s thoughts.” Hearing that made me wonder why we spend so much of our life on repeat. We get up with the same thoughts, go to work with the same thoughts, go home with the same thoughts, and then wonder about the same frustrations. We wonder why our life isn’t getting any better. When you lay this out, it seems kind of obvious. Our life isn’t getting any better or changing because we aren’t changing our thought-life first.

When I went into business in 1999, I was challenged to read a new book every month for personal development. I have kept that challenge since the first month I was in business and have accelerated the number of books I read each year. I remember having one year, 2019, where I decided to read and re-read 12 books during the year until I had integrated the information into my thoughts. That was an incredible experience. I would read a book and underline the things that stood out to me. I would then go back and reread it and highlight anything new that stood out to me. I would then look for ways to integrate those ideas and thoughts into my daily actions. By going through a book two or three times a month and being intentional about applying the learning, I was shifting my thoughts and, therefore, my habits.

The simple truth is that nothing changes if nothing changes. Our internal self-concept is tied to the rhetoric floating around in our heads. Those thoughts about us, life, work, others, and everything else shape our actions. An action on repeat becomes a habit. And eventually, our habits make up our existence. When you are ready to change the habit of being you in order to become the best version of yourself, start with your thoughts. When you learn to control your thinking, you control your identity and, ultimately, your outcomes.