1, #98 - Behavior starts with identity

FIGURE 3: There are three layers of behavior change: a change in your outcomes, a change in your processes, or a change in your identity.

identity is always a construct that derives from an interaction between the identity holder and the wider environment.

There are three layers of behavior change: a change in your outcomes, a change in your processes, or a change in your identity.

There are three layers of behavior change: a change in your outcomes, a change in your processes, or a change in your identity.

Your behavior follows your identity. The scientific definition of identity is “a well-organized conception of the self, consisting of values and beliefs to which the individual is solidly committed.”

Try to think of identity as hierarchy. At the top are the roles, which don’t mean anything in and of themselves but are simply shorthand for a set of values that live underneath. These values are then associated with actual behaviors, because identity is really a sentence we tell ourselves and others: “I’m the kind of person who [value/behavior].”

Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe. When it comes to building habits that last—when it comes to building a system of 1 percent improvements—the problem is not that one level is “better” or “worse” than another. All levels of change are useful in their own way. The problem is the dire

Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.

Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.