“Doing The Thing” means changing your identity.

We’ve all heard stuff like: “Preparing to do the thing isn’t doing the thing”. “Scheduling time to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.” “Making a to-do list for the thing isn’t doing the thing.” This is by all means true, you need action and direction if you want to get somewhere. The odd thing is, even with all those words full of motivation, some of us still struggle to stand up and go “Do the thing”. It’s not motivation we lack, it’s not a good reason to act. Sometimes we take actions around “the thing” to find ourselves back to square one. It’s frustrating and it keeps us where we are. If it’s not motivation, resources or lack of clear direction, then we can look at our mindset around it. Here’s another perspective about taking action. 

Actions define who we are, they define our identity. We use our identities to justify that action or that kind of behavior. Basically, we are saying “I choose to do THIS, because I am that type of person”. I choose to workout because I am someone who values a healthy lifestyle, I am someone who volunteers because I am someone who believes in giving back to society, I am someone who prioritizes family time because I believe in being present for the ones we love. These choices match the preconception of who we are as a person, whether we are aware that we’re constantly making them or not. We may have an identity that was created without us being completely aware of it. By consequence, we do things without even realizing it. 

Now, what does your identity and finally doing the thing have in common? Well, we may be seeing it from the wrong angle. We think that once we do the thing, we will become that person. This is means focusing more on the end result rather than the process it takes to get there. To make sure the thing and the subsequent things after that get done, we first have to become the person who does them. We have to change our identity first, so that this new identity can influence the actions that we want. It may sound a bit like “Fake it ‘till you make it” but if you don’t identify yourself with that action, it will never happen.

With this new perspective, we can start to ask ourselves “What does the person who does that thing look like?” “What do they read?” “How do they spend their mornings or their free time?” Once we start thinking like the person who “Does the thing” we will start to make decisions accordingly and those decisions will go in line with that new identity. When we start framing decisions in this way we will get to a point where, faced with a choice, we will be able and confident to say: “Yes, I will do that. I am that kind of person.”

What’s currently holding us back is that we can’t achieve a certain outcome because we don’t believe we are the person who could get the desired outcome. That person that identifies with that action is not there yet, it doesn’t exist. We have to create it. This means that sometimes we will have to let go of past identities that were responsible of certain actions. This is when true, transformative change happens. You need to create a “new you” that is able, capable and that you believe deserves to take that action.

Creating the identity first gives us a constant filter for our decisions. We start to see our behavior through a more analytical lense. For example, let’s say that you really want to start working out in the mornings before going to work. Starting tonight, when you find yourself in the couch scrolling on your phone, you can start asking yourself: “Would a person who works out in the morning before going to work doomscroll on his phone until midnight?”. You don’t need to be an expert in the topic. You know you should go to bed earlier if you want to wake up earlier than you usually do. You just used that filter to take that decision and now you can even start to identify yourself as a person who goes to bed early instead of being on their phone.

This will work better than randomly setting a goal and hoping it will happen. You have a way to constantly (this is the key here) hold yourself accountable. Most importantly, you also have a way to permanently change as a person and create that new identity in the process so that those subsequent actions keep on happening. This way, slipping away from a habit or from constant action is harder because now you identify yourself with it. It’s part of you, you’re that kind of person now.

With that in mind, go become that person who “Does the thing” and please just “Do the thing”.