“Can identity change?” yes, it can and in this post, you’ll know

The 7 Sings Of identity Shifting that tell you that the work you are doing to shift your identity is working & normal (The Norms Of Identity Shifting that i found from experience)

that’s why you don’t need to panic !!!!

When shifting your identity you will notice things start happening to you

Some of them are normal things that happen as a result of this work

And knowing the normal signs will help you calm down in the face of change that is happening

Plus, being aware will stop you from spirling into thinking that

” it is not working, why I keep doing the old  things, why am I not thinking the way you want … “the negative self-talk

In this blog post, I‘ll share with you the signs that tell you whether

what’s happening for you is normal or not if you are working on shifting your identity

What you will learn:

-the common signs of shifting your identity (that what are doing is working)

-why does each one happen

-how to overcome each one and make peace with it 

Note: I use the words belief, and self-image interchangeably

Can identity change?

the 7 Signs of identity shifting

1-you’re resisting doing what your new identity would do

My health journey started because I wanted to lose weight

for as long as I remember I was comparing myself to skinny and thin girls and you can guess i wasn’t that.

I ate a lot and I gained weight throughout my school years 

When I was halfway through university, I don’t remember why I did it but at that time

I went on a diet and did a workout challenge that helped me lose weight and eat healthy 

That sounds great, right? 

Wrong!! I had many moments of resisting eating healthy because I was craving junk food chips, fried food, and sugar

and many times I caved in quite honestly I thought healthy food sucked

Of course, that changed when I learned to cook better dishes and swap ingredients in the dishes I love

 aka doing them in a healthier way

I was rigid I wanted never to eat “bad food“ again ever which was not the right mindset to go with at least for me.

Moderation and giving myself little by little work for the long run

I was working on becoming a person who loses weight, exercise and eats well

So, to be that I started buying healthy food and veggies and cutting sugar and carbs

but as I shared with you

I felt residence in many instances to do that and at somepoint I got back to eating unhealthy here and there

That’s something you should expect why do you ask?

why does resistance happen?

I’ll tell you it’s because your brain isn’t yet believing that you are that person

who can lose weight,eat healthier or build that business,…

Just because you want to be the person who sleeps early doesn’t mean your brain will comply>>>

you need to repeat programming your brain

How? By always reminding yourself of who you want to be, repeatedly, say who you are

and by asking yourself what that person does

then take action like that person would which will build the evidence that you are that person

your brain will start to believe it and as you keep doing that you’ll eventually be her/him 

The irony is when you do the action you take will be in accordance without planning

To work through the resistance when it happens

1- expect it 

2-choose neutral version/thought that leads you to your self-image

For example, I am the kind of person who follow through from time to time with eating healthy

I am on my way to getting healthier, losing wight more…etc

3-remember that is not doing the work like that person once or twice doesn’t mean anything

it’s normal and keep your focus on how many times you showed up as her/his

2- you feel like you’re relapsing

taking action in accordance with who you want to be and then stopping

How does that show up?

I was eating healthy and exercising regularly but then I ate cookies, chips

and fast food not one time but on several occasions 

And my brain was flashing the red light at the same time I couldn’t stop myself 

I felt bad for doing it but that didn’t stop me at all  that’s how relapsing shows up

You follow through & do as the new idenity then get back into doing the opposite of what your new identity requires

after you’ve stuk doing what the new image does

That doesn’t feel good and your brain starts to panic

“ I can’t do it, I figured I can’t do it, I am falling off the wagon…etc

And so on

Why does that happen?

Simply, because it’s something new and your brain has not yet made it permanent

When you are not aware, or consciously working through it

It will slip into what is used to think all the time which is the old identity 

what can you do when that happens?

If you find yourself in this place, don’t stress about it

remind yourself of your identity and take action as it would to

3-feeling conflicted 

How does that show up?

You feel like you are fighting yourself whether to do something or not

Posting, creating content, talking to potential clients, and selling while you are doing that

you feel you don’t want to do it

at the same time, you do sometimes you do it sometimes you don’t

And you feel conflicted because of that

Why does that happen?

That’s because of the cognitive dissonance because you hold two contradictory beliefs about yourself 

For that to dissipate is for one belief to become dominant if you stopped working on your new identity

your old one will take over because it is already ingrained in your brain

But if you keep going the new one will take dominance 

4-self sabotaging hardcore 

Procraisante by learning about new social media hacks & tips, spending all day every day searching for

information for your content or scroll on your phone…etc

Overthink a task what you need to create a new post when

you already know how or have an idea how…

why does that happen?

You get into all kinds of self-sabotaging behaviours as

a way to stop the change 

Or rather your brain does because it loves familiarity and saving energy

and changing your self-image requires energy

how to deal with that?

First, don’t make it a big deal

Second, keep repeating the self-image(stay in the belief for a while

and keep increasing the time you stay in the belief as you do with exercise reps) and take action

third, if you need extra help with specific sabotaging behaviour check this blog

5-feeling uncertain

How does that show up?

you are working on becoming the person who takes care of your health and starts working on losing weight.

during which you begin to feel a little uncertain because

you have skipped a day or two in your workout, you ate cake the other day when you didn’t plan to,

you went to a party and ate to your heart’s content because it’s party or you couldn’t resist …

and you have been working on eating healthy and exercising but these things happened which will raise doubt about who you are and what you do

and you might find yourself referring to old thoughts

like I always ruin things, I’ve fallen off the wagon, I knew I couldn’t do it….

Why does that happen?

Sometimes you feel insecure and uncertain about who you are because you are not 100% believing the new belief aka the new self-image 

when you start to feel this way here are a few things you can do:

1-know that’s ok to not do things 100% and perfectly

instead focus on the number of days that you did things according to the new self-image.

always track your effort and it will come in handy to help in moments like these and to build the evidence for your new self-image

2-when your brain starts throwing old thoughts at you:

recognize them as just thoughts your brain used to think on repeat

they are not true but just repeated thoughts and you have the ability to change them at the moment and before

3-change these thoughts to believable thoughts that you have written before or just ignore them

check these articles to learn how to change your self-image and this on how to change your beliefs

6-questioning What you are doing and will do

Feeling doubt in what I share, in my ability to deliver what I promise …

Why does that happen?

Because you don’t have enough evidence or any evidence about the new identity (depending on your stage of shifting your identity )

and that’s Because you haven’t done enough of the things the new identity does

However, as you begin to act in accordance with the new identity you want to have

the more evidence that you will collect that will feed into your subconscious and build the neurocircuits for it

7-feeling internal chaos

How does it sound in your brain?

note: the examples are based on the example of the self-image of a healthy person who wants to lose weight and take care of their health I’ve used in the previous points

your brain living in chaos with thoughts that encourage you to be that person

(eg. I’ve eaten healthy food before, I’ve done difficult things before and I can do this too, as I lose weight I look better…etc)

and

thoughts that discourage you (eg. you can’t eat doughnuts, you are not willed enough to stop sugar, you’ve never eaten veggies, how can you do it…etc)

that make you feel bad, feel guilty, feel sad and disheartened

which leads you to Overthink everything you do, procrastinate

or distract you from the fight that is going on in your brain

Your brain all over the place and you can’t seem to be able to do your work

Why does that happen?

Easy, since you are holding two conflicting beliefs which will create a feeling of discomfort 

when you feel this way here is what you can do:

1- you don’t need to do anything, just becoming aware will help you see it and let it be

2-treat the symptom separately for example if you procrastinate overcome it

, when you overthink things do the things that help you overcome it and keep going

here are a few articles that will help to overcome procrastination, overthinking and other types of self-sabotage

Was this eye-opening? Are feeling relieved now? Who are you trying to be? Comment below

Cheers to your success 

Wafaa