Wellness

How To Love Healthy Habits More: Two Identity Hacks You Need

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

Come on over and swap your identity! (Why not?)

woman reading book while sitting on white chair

She laughed at me.

But I intended for her to laugh at me that time.

(That’s how we know that she is bright, brilliant and sophisticated – She laughs at the RIGHT time.1)

The funny thing I said to the newbie at the gym after the exercise class was this:

Join people in over fifty countries who read this to gain valuable life wisdom! (Or maybe they’re just laughing at me? . . . Whatever!)

“You can eat TWO pieces of cake when you get home because you went to the gym!”

“Hahaha!” they laughed.

But STOP for a second. Insert that sound that makes people rewind or halt in a movie – Time stands still for a second while we ask:

WHY, EXACTLY, ARE THEY LAUGHING?

Besides the fact of my sophisticated, exceptionally humorous remarks, they are laughing because:

NO ONE WANTS TO EAT TWO PIECES OF CAKE IMMEDIATELY AFTER GOING TO THE GYM.

Why not?

Because going to the gym, even once, changes our identity.

This identity hack was actually the one thing that helped me to stay within [basically) my weight goal for most of my life – I didn’t focus on losing weight. I focused on movement. This focus changed my self-perceived identity.

As mentioned HERE, I hate it when others (or even the best side of me!) tell me what to do!

“Stop being so bossy!” I yell at them, or even at myself. But if I get some exercise, I don’t immediately want two pieces of cake (it takes a few hours). Being the kind of person who exercises changes my identity, so better dietary habits come a little more easily.

“I’M THE KIND OF PERSON WHO GOES TO THE GYM”, my mind tells my mouth.

An energy ball (or other healthier treat) suddenly seems more appealing, anyway, right now, is how I feel.

a wooden bowl filled with nuts next to a jar of nuts

Who we believe we are drives our behavior.

So, (1) Go to the gym or get outside for a walk or run to begin to change your own idea of who you are!

And when do we start this? We can even begin this type of identity transformation before we get to the gym if we are experts! For example, once my friend said,

“I go swimming three times a week!”

“Oh wow!” I said. “How long have you been doing that?”

“I went swimming twice!” he continued.

He knows who he is! A swimmer! Showing up at the pool is that much easier, friends!

If that fails, then another great identity hack to help us choose healthier habits is (of course) to:

(2) Pretend to be someone else! (This is one of my favorite life and identity hacks.) More on this HERE!

And whichever of these two identity hacks you choose, remember to be S.T.U.P.I.D. about it while you’re at it! (Explanation HERE.)

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Oh! And did you know that God is constantly whispering to us, asking us to change our view of ourselves, too?

If you knew who God made you to be, you’d never want to be anyone else.

Pastor Bill Johnson

Have a listen to what God is whispering, friend.

You may just be surprised at who you end up becoming, once you know who you really are, too.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

The Message

As the song below sings, “You call me deeper still into love . . .” consider asking God, “How do I see myself differently from how You see me?” And may who you believe you are align exactly with how God sees you, friend. (Everything gets easier to DO when we have a closer understanding of who we really ARE.)

Thanks for liking me! I like you too! – Proven HERE, HERE, and HERE! Let’s journey together!

Photo Credits – How’s Your Life? (Need Someone New To Drive Your Car?) by Prophsee Journals on Unsplash, Are Energy Balls Your New Best Friend, Too? by Ophélie Pgt on Unsplash

1 NOT like many of the people who read these articles who laugh at all the serious stuff and are serious when it’s time to laugh at my funny jokes! Why?

Shatter Your Massive Ego – It’s Time To Be Amazing! (Like Me)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
man in black tank top and gray shorts holding black smartphone

I went from being the biggest loser at the gym, doing exercises without ANY weights (Don’t judge me), to finding lighter weights than the lightest weights that they put out for the group class and using those.

But I was using ACTUAL five-pound weights by then!

“The ones who keep coming back are the ones who will get stronger!” I was told.

And I kept coming back.

Until one day, my instructor “had chills” when I did an exercise. This was because I did it with good form. Perhaps her chills were simply chills of relief that she didn’t have to spend five minutes out of every ten minutes re-showing me how to use the equipment in a class full of thirty other students so I wouldn’t hurt myself, her, or others nearby*, but they were chills nonetheless!

“She obviously truly cares about her students,” my husband commented, so he thinks she was surprised I did something right, too.

But I’m improving!

And the thing is that my friend didn’t want to come to the gym because she felt intimidated by all the people around her doing stuff right. That’s the dumbest reason not to go to the gym because EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM was once a big loser at the gym, throwing around weights and hurting themselves and others. (Well, maybe some caught on faster than me, but you catch my point!)

Anyway, we often hear people say it’s those who go the gym a lot who have the big egos, right? Like they are the ones who will laugh at us? Wait – maybe they will laugh at us, but if you read this post, you won’t care about that either!

The point is that you are getting stronger.

And that looking like a bit of a loser is not a bad thing!

It means you’re learning.

And similarly, the next time you pray to God, and then open one eye and wonder why the Archangel Gabriel isn’t standing next to you in your bedroom giving you life instructions, maybe take off your head and replace it with a new one. (Replace it with a head with correct thoughts while you’re at it, of course!)

Maybe we’re SUPPOSED to feel like losers when we are in the process of growing spiritually or physically.

For example, every time I woke up early when I was in a season of trying to learn to pray, I felt like I was playing hide and seek with Jesus. “I can’t find you!” I would call out after 1.28 seconds of concerted prayer. But He was there, often (metaphorically) hiding behind a small rosebush in my backyard. The rosebush that hadn’t blossomed yet. He was in plain sight because my rosebush only reached his knees, but He was bent at the waist, laughing.

I was learning that He loves it when we seek Him.

And so, maybe feeling like we’re losers is even good for us sometimes.

It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.

Ancient Text

Realizing we’re losers is often part of the heart transformation we need to be able to run into His arms like a small child when He does reveal Himself to us one day, when we do experience his presence, when we do sense His love for us through the arms of His people who love us because they love Him.

And so all this jibber-jabber about people at the gym, for example, that they have huge egos?

Hogwash.

After all, I go to the gym!

I do subscribe, however, to the philosophy that it is wiser to FLAUNT one’s ego, so maybe the having-a-big-ego thing doesn’t apply to me?

My gym did recently install this mat, however.

I wonder why?

It’s probably because there’s someone at the gym, someone else, who has a big ego.

Whatever.

Anyway, I hope you follow my advice by knowing now, with absolute confidence, because I told you so, that you, like me, are, of course, VERY humble, the opposite of those with a big ego.

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Photo credit: Fit guy by Total Shape on Unsplash

*Most days, note that it was only ONE of those three.

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! (Proven HERE, HERE and HERE!) Let’s journey together!