1, #98 - Behavior starts with identity

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

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].”