2 people who have quit smoking are offered a cigarette. One responds: “I don’t smoke” the other: “I am trying to quit”. They have both quit smoking but who is likely to stick with it?
I am reading Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear. The above is an example he shares in the beginning of the book. The example really stuck with me.
I started running last summer but keep on telling myself that “I am not a runner”. Yes, I was never before a runner. And, yes, I am not like my husband and his running buddies. They run marathons, and run nearly every day, rain or shine. But, I have been running. I have been running regularly 2-3 times a week, 3-6 miles. But guess what? If I am NOT a runner it is much easier to NOT go running when it is cold outside, or I am tiered or any other excuse. But when I AM a runner, why would I not go running? So I decided that from now on, I AM a runner. No excuses.
Whatever you are NOT you are far less likely to embrace opportunities in it.
I coach many women who tell me that they are not this or that. They are not a project manager, even though they have been managing projects. They are not a techy, because they are not engineers, but great with technology. And so on.