How to Stick to Fitness Habits by Changing Your Identity

Nikkiey: The majority of people never shift the way that they look at themselves, and they don't realize that their old identity can sabotage their new plans for change.

What's going on, you guys? Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott, co-founder and brand personality of WarriorBabe, where we talk about mindset, methodologies and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkiey Stott, and welcome, my friends, to episode number 23, where I'm going to dive into sharing with you three levels of progress, or three levels of change. I think it's so easy to repeat bad habits, and I'm sure you could agree, and it's so hard to form good ones.

Even if you have this sincere effort and occasional bursts of motivation, it does feel difficult to keep good habits going for more than a few days. I think you can agree with me on that, right? Or even a few weeks. You're so excited to start something. You're so excited to get going. New Year's, for example. Where are you at with your New Year's resolutions? You have this burst of motivation, but it's so difficult to keep the habits you're trying to form going for more than a few days or more than a few weeks.

Hats off to you if it's February, you're two months into your New Year's resolution and you're doing well. That's fucking awesome. But the majority of you, I'm sure, have fallen off the bandwagon. And why this happens is because you try to change the wrong thing. That's what I'm going to talk about with you in today's podcast.

I want you to consider that there are three levels at which change can occur, three levels at which progress can occur. And I want you to imagine them like layers of an onion.

The first layer, the outside of the onion, as you peel it back, is where you're changing your outcomes. This level is only concerned with changing your results: losing weight, winning a challenge, changing your body composition. The list goes on, but most of the goals that you set are associated with this level of change. So your goals are here. You want to lose weight, you want to lose fat, you want to win a challenge, you want to build muscle, you want to change your body composition. These are your goals, and they're associated with changing your outcomes. That's the first layer.

We peel the onion a little bit more and we get to the second layer, and this is changing your process. This level is concerned with changing your habits and your systems, like implementing a new gym routine, developing a reading practice, working on your sleep hygiene and developing that routine, planning your macros in advance. These are habits and systems that you're starting to put into place, and this is changing your process. Most of the habits that you build are associated with this level.

Then the third level, the layer deeper, is the core of the onion. It's the deepest level. This is changing your identity. This level is concerned with changing your beliefs, your self-image, your judgments about yourself and about others, your self-confidence, your can or can't do attitude. The list goes on, but most of the beliefs, assumptions and biases that you hold are associated with this level.

So the outcomes are what you get. That's the first layer. The processes are about what you do. That's the second layer. And the identity is about what you believe. That's the core, the third layer. You know, when you're bawling your eyes out because you're at the core of the onion, cutting it up. You've got that, right? Hold those and understand them. Outcomes are what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.

Again, most of the goals that you set are associated with the first level of change, changing your outcomes. Most of the habits that you build are associated with the second layer, changing your process. I'm using layers and levels interchangeably; you know what I'm saying here. And the third layer, the third level, is where all of your beliefs, assumptions and biases are held.

So many people begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve, and this leads to outcome-based habits. However, for the sake of this podcast, for the sake of your journey, for the sake of everything that you want to accomplish with changing your body composition, building muscle and losing body fat, the alternative is to build identity-based habits. A lot of you just focus on what you want to achieve. You focus on outcome-based habits. I want you to have a mindset shift and focus on identity-based habits.

With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become. I went deeper into this concept of who you're wanting to become, who you're wishing to become and who you are working to become in episode number four. It's so good, you guys. It's one of our top five podcasts, so definitely check it out.

Most people don't even consider identity change when they set out to improve. You think, I want to be toned. I did too. I'm not saying it's just you. Me too, at the beginning of my journey. Most people don't consider identity change when they set out to improve. But I want to accelerate your mindset right now, and I want to get you getting results faster and creating habits faster. So I'm making you aware of this process, and you can tenfold your system, your habits and your results.

Most people just think, okay, I want to be toned. I want to lose fat. That's an outcome. And if I stick to this diet, then I'll be toned, then I'll lose fat. That's a process. The diet is a process. Wanting to achieve something is the outcome. So a lot of people just set goals and determine the actions they should take to achieve those goals without considering the beliefs that drive their actions.

People never shift, or, I shouldn't say never, but the majority of people never shift the way that they look at themselves, and they don't realize that their old identity can sabotage their new plans for change. Let that sink in, you guys. A lot of people struggle to shift the way they look at themselves, and they don't realize that their old identity can sabotage their new plans for change.

So if you want to take on learning something that's going to help you lose body fat and build muscle, and you don't shift the way that you look at yourself, it's as simple as this: I can or cannot do this. If you say, I can't do this, guess what? You won't. If you say, I can do this, and you shift the way you're looking at yourself, your perspective and what you're capable of, and you shift your old identity away from can't to can, then you won't sabotage your new plans for change. But if you continue to say you can't, then you will sabotage them, because you're still stuck in this old identity.

Behind every system of actions that you take is a system of beliefs. Say you know you have to take on a new action, like going to the gym, but you're still stuck in this system of belief that says, I'm too busy, or I can't do this, or it's too hard, and you keep telling yourself this old story. Well, guess what? The actions are going to match that belief, and you're not going to take the action. Behind every system of action, if you want supporting actions, you have to change the system of beliefs that you're telling yourself.

If you say, I can make this happen, I can go to the gym, I'm learning, I'm getting better, and you develop these stronger, more supportive beliefs, guess what? You're going to take better supporting actions for your journey. You're going to show up. You're going to go to the gym. You're going to make it happen. You're going to learn. And these are new systems of actions, because you've built a new system of beliefs for yourself.

You may want a toned and stronger body, but if you continue to prioritize comfort over accomplishment, you'll be drawn to a lack of effort or relaxing rather than training and planning your nutrition better. Like I just said, your old identity gets you stuck and will sabotage your new plans for change. If you want a stronger body and you want to build muscle, but you continue to prioritize, oh, I'm so tired, I just want to sit on the couch after work, and you don't make it to the gym, choosing that over the accomplishment, you're just going to be drawn to a lack of effort and relaxing rather than making shit happen, showing up for yourself, planning your nutrition and doing the work.

It's hard to change your habits if you never change the underlying beliefs that led to your past behavior. For example, this is why people are forever on the hamster wheel of trying to lose the same 10 pounds over and over and over again. These people have a new goal. They have a new plan. But they didn't change who they were. They didn't realize and recognize that all of these new habits, processes and systems are really helping to change the identity and the beliefs that they have.

So in the time frame that they lost the 10 pounds, the habits and the systems changed the belief system they had, but they didn't hold on to it. They didn't truly change it. They didn't absorb and sink into that last level and layer of change, because they're constantly repeating. Like I said, it's hard to change your habits if you never change the underlying beliefs that led to your past behavior. Just because they maybe did it in that short amount of time, they didn't change the underlying beliefs over a long period of time that led to their past behavior. They're still stuck on this hamster wheel of losing the same 10 pounds over and over and over again.

The ultimate form of natural motivation, you guys, is when a habit becomes a part of your identity. That's the last layer of change. It's one thing to say, I'm the type of person who wants this. I'm the type of person who wants to go out for a run. I'm the type of person who wants to build muscle, get into the gym and start working out. And it's something very different to say, I'm the type of person who is this.

Let me pull back and share a story from the beginning of my journey. Sure, at the beginning of my journey, as I've shared with you, I was the type of person who wanted this. But as I constantly showed up for myself, got what I wanted, which was the outcome, and did what I had to do, which was the process, my core identity changed. As I became more consistent with it over time, my core identity changed to match the beliefs, the processes, the systems, the habits, everything that I'd embedded for myself. I am now the type of person who is this. I did it, and I know you can do this too. But you have to work yourself through these three levels of change. You have to do it.

If you know you're the person who's constantly stuck on this hamster wheel, okay, now you're aware of the outcomes you want and you're doing the processes. But pay more attention to the habits you're doing that are getting you success, and make that a root core identity of yours. Because that's where natural motivation comes from: when a habit becomes part of your identity. For me it's like, this is just my life. This is just who I am. Working out, nutrition, no problem, I've got it, because it's a part of my identity at this point.

Hey, I just want to drop a huge appreciation to you for listening to the show. It means a lot. I hope you're enjoying it, and there's so much more to come. If you are enjoying it, hit the subscribe button. I'd appreciate that tons, and it would help this podcast reach others who need to hear these messages too. Thanks so much. Let's get back to the show.

The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you'll be to maintain the habits associated with it. I hold a lot of proud moments of accomplishment for what I've been able to do with changing my body composition through training and nutrition. It's a part of my identity, like I said, and so the more motivated I will be to maintain the habits associated with that.

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Let that sink in. I'm so happy that I've accomplished all of these things and that I've gone through training and nutrition, and now it's just a part of my identity, so I'm more motivated to maintain the habits associated with it. I will never go back to where I was eight years ago. I will never, ever lead that type of lifestyle again, because I have shifted my identity. I have built nutrition, training and health into the core root of who I am now.

And I know you can do this too. You just have to walk through these three levels of change. I'm making it so clear for you right now. This is your self-awareness podcast, my friends. I'm calling out these things to help you start implementing faster.

You know the things that have gotten you success in the past. Even if you're not there right now, you know that you did something for three months and you saw amazing results. So what was it? What were the processes? What were the systems? I talked about this in episode two, where I want you to stop focusing on your goals and focus on your systems instead. That's our number two top podcast. Go check it out. It's a really good one, because they pair with this one.

All of this is coming from an amazing book called Atomic Habits. I have read that book cover to cover multiple, multiple times. It's so good, and I can repeat this stuff because now it's embedded in me and I can share it with you.

But getting back to it, I need you to understand this. True behavior change is identity change. True behavior change is identity change. You might start a habit because of motivation, but the only reason you'll stick with one is that it becomes part of your identity, of who you are and who you wish to become.

Anyone can convince themselves to visit the gym or eat healthy for a few days or a few weeks. But if you don't shift the belief behind that behavior, it is so hard to stick with it for long-term change. At the beginning of the year, you convinced yourself to go to the gym. What happened? It lasted a few days, a few weeks, maybe a month, because you didn't shift the belief behind the behavior. You're falling back into old patterns and old habits, and that is going to be hard to stick with for long-term change. You have to shift the belief behind the behavior.

Understand that improvements are only temporary until they become part of who you are. Those things you did at the beginning of the year, the first couple of weeks, the first month, that improvement is only temporary, because it has to become a part of who you are. And this doesn't happen overnight. Let me remind you of that.

For all of you who made a New Year's resolution, fell off, and are a month in realizing all these things and thinking, damn, this is me, you can still jump back on. Jump back on today. Jump back on tomorrow. Stop saying, I'm waiting, I'm going to wait till Monday, I'm going to wait till a new month. Stop. Tomorrow's a new day. Do it. Jump on this and make it part of your lifestyle now. Because all the improvements you make are temporary until they become a part of your identity and a part of who you are, until training, working out, health and nutrition are just a part of who you are.

And again, think about who you want to become. I said this in a recent podcast and I said it in episode four. Think to the future. Be proactive about your health now, because when you're 60, 70, 80 years old, what you do now matters. You want to make this a part of who you are now, because that's when it becomes permanent.

All right, to wrap up this podcast, and I hope you're enjoying it: what you do is an indication of the type of person you believe that you are. Once you believe in a particular aspect of your identity, you are more likely to act in alignment with that belief. If you believe that you are fit, then you are going to act in alignment with that belief. You may not be fit right now, but you can tell yourself, man, I am fit, I feel good. A positive affirmation with emotion attached to it. I am fit. I feel confident. I feel amazing. I feel healthy. Start telling yourself that now.

You own your mind. Don't let your mind own you. You own your mind. You tell it how it should think. When your behavior and your identity are fully aligned, you are simply acting like the type of person you already believe yourself to be. And you have to program your mind to work in your favor, toward who you want to become.

For example, at the beginning of my journey, which is exactly the same as the beginning of the journey for the majority of you, I didn't know what I was doing. I knew nothing about nutrition or proper workouts to change my body composition or build muscle. I shared this with you in episode number one of the podcast. However, I didn't want to maintain those behaviors and actions, like not eating enough, or wasting time in the gym doing the wrong things. I didn't want to waste my time anymore. I knew those weren't behaviors aligned with who I wished to be and to become. So I pursued new understandings and new learnings that were in alignment with who I wished to become and what I wished to accomplish.

And you can do this too, by checking out WarriorBabe. One of our programs is all education based, so you can learn the why behind every single action you're taking with the habits you're creating, and how you can turn training and nutrition into your lifestyle. For everything I'm talking about here, we literally have a whole mindset masterclass inside our Blueprint program. It's an educational course where you learn the why behind everything, and the things I'm teaching you right now are inside the program. But there are so many other things in the program that will help you make this a part of your lifestyle. So check it out. The link is below this podcast.

Like I said, I pursued new understandings and new learnings that were in alignment with who I wished to become, because progress requires unlearning. All of the things I was doing were not going to get me to where I wanted to be, so I had to unlearn them. Those bad habits, aka my sugar addiction, running, signing up for marathons. Who was that person? It's not who I wanted to become. And I did it. I stopped. I unlearned all of those things and all of those habits. Because becoming the best new version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs and to upgrade and expand your identity.

So all I ask of you from this podcast is to steer away from focusing only on the outcomes you want, and become more self-aware of the processes, what you do, to get you into the deepest layer of changing your identity, which is what you believe. A lot of that is embedding the habits that are getting you successful results, which is getting to the gym and getting your nutrition in. But most importantly, it's the bottom of the iceberg that I always refer to: the discipline habits, your mindset, your willpower, your grit, your determination. Put those in alignment with making nutrition a part of your identity and your health a part of your identity. Man, if you make all of these things a part of your identity, you will be unstoppable.

I hope you enjoyed this podcast. I definitely did. I love speaking about this stuff. I could speak about it all day long. I love mindset-related tactics. So take it. All I ask is that you put this stuff into action. Please don't just listen to the podcast and do nothing about it. Change something. Because the more you change something, the better you're going to get the results you want. All right? See you in the next episode. Bye.

Real quick: the only ask I could ever have of you is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals and feel insanely confident. The only way we can do that is if you rate, review and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask you to do is leave a review. It will take you 10 seconds, it will mean the absolute world to me, and it may change the world of someone else.