Why do some people seem to glide from successful completion of goal after goal and others can't get past the starting line? What's the issue everyone must resolve in order to break through to new levels of success? Identity.

Read on: blog.WednesdayWin.com​

Read time: 4 minutes

Your self view is the key to unlock higher levels of accomplishment. It's not enough to set goals, but you must also believe that you are exactly the person who can and will achieve them.

Let's explore:

1. All achievement requires growth

Any big step up in achievement will require growth. New skills, new levels of effort, new connections, new knowledge, and more. That will transform you into a different person at the end.

At some stages of our lives, this is easy. Once we start school as children and get familiar with its patterns and rhythms, we accept that the goal is to learn, practice, and build up our skills.

Too often as adults, we look for shortcuts or ways to apply existing knowledge or skills while expecting ever higher returns. That's likely to be a losing strategy.

Accept the Jim Rohn adage: "To have more, we must first become more."

• Higher achievement requires growth
• Same abilities, at best only leads to same results
• Ultimately, there is no steady state; without growth, you are falling behind

2. What's the block?

It's not enough to set goals. It's not enough to make plans for those goals. And, it's not enough to schedule your tasks.

You cannot achieve goals that do not align with your own self view of who you really are.

Sure, it’s possible to miss a target because you overestimated your available time or underestimated the amount of work required, but in general, you can achieve amazing things far beyond your current capabilities with enough focus and consistent effort.

Our subconscious mind drives so much of our effort and focus. And, this is especially true for things that require significant effort over time to achieve.

When you set your goals without really thinking through your mindset first, you create a cognitive dissonance that will pull you back down.

• The block is often easy to see in others, but hard to recognize in ourselves
• We act in accordance with the person we imagine ourselves to be
• Without conscious change, our self-imposed ceilings hold us down from our best selves

3. Identity is the engine

If the block is an out of alignment view of oneself, does that mean we're doomed to live only the life that our identity allows?

Fortunately, no.

But, you must first become wholly committed to your new self.

• If you are starting a company, you must fully embrace being that CEO
• If you are applying for a degree program, you must see yourself as an accomplished graduate
• If you are pursuing a promotion, you must first think as that higher performer

The power of this shift is that your subconscious will start pulling you forward instead of trying to hold you back. You will start making the little positive steps to elevate your performance and help you reach your goals.

With the right preparation, you still create a cognitive dissonance, but now you will be pulled up to your target achievement by your behaviors as you will be fulfilling the role you’ve created for yourself.

4. Alignment supercharges habit-forming

What are the signs that you have found your right sense of self?

Your actions and reactions change. You'll take on new and different challenges and resist self- and external-driven limitations that have limited your life.

This isn't some "fake it 'til you make it" mission. You'll likely need to grow into your full new sense of self over time, but do your best to align your actions with exactly the sort of person who regularly achieves your goals.

This naturally streamlines the creation of new positive habits as they create a positive feedback loop supporting your beliefs about yourself.

• First you must imagine your future self to inform your subconscious
• Then your subconscious helps you make it real in the world.

Action Summary

To reach new heights, you need to completely accept that you are the exact person who not only will reach your goals, but that you are the person who has reached your goals.

Reflect on your primary goal for the next 6-12 months. See yourself in the present tense having achieved that.

Reflect:

• How do you behave?
• How do you think?
• How do you interact with others?

What do those who have reached your goals do, think, and engage? Do that.

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What do you think? Have you seen this action in your life? Reply to this email and let me know.

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To your success,

Christopher

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P.S. Like this one? You'll probably want to check out this earlier Wednesday Win essay on consistently performing at a high level, too.

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