The real reason you don’t reach that goal

"Brainy What-Why-How"

Your weekly nibble of science-backed goodness to help you move better and feel unstoppable.

🧠

What (the TL:DR)

You cannot outrun or outwork the person you believe yourself to be. 

You can buy the course. Write the goal down. Tell all your friends about it. Feel motivated AF.

But if your identity says, "I'm someone who never sticks with things" or "I don't deserve this"...

Eventually your behaviour will return to match it. 

If you want lasting change, stop asking "How do I achieve this goal?" 

...and start asking "Who do I need evidence that I already am?" 

Why (the geeky neurology)

There's a super interesting brain circuitry called the Default Mode Network (DMN) and it's involved in our sense of self. 

As the name suggestions, it's what's activated when we're not focused on anything in particular -- but when we're running our "defaults". Under the surface, beneath conscious thought, it's constantly making predictions based on your past. 

It predicts what you're capable of -- based on what you've done in the past.

It predicts who you are -- based on who you've been in the past. 

So change sometimes feels hella difficult because you can consciously decide:

"I'm going to learn handstand."

But your subconscious is running the patterns that say: 

"I'm not disciplined"
"I'm not athletic"
"I never finish what I start"

Eventually, through the ~30,000 subconscious decisions we make every single day, the subconscious wins. 

So buying another programme, another book, another coaching package often isn't the answer. 

If the behaviour keeps disappearing, the problem isn't your strategy. 

It's your identity. 

Movement is a really good example:

When we practise drills, we're creating new movement maps for our brain to follow. Usually with enough repetition, those patterns become the default (next week I'll share why sometimes this isn't the case 🤓)

Identity works in a surprisingly similar way. 

The difference, however, is that your brain doesn't update your identity just through conscious processes, like saying you're going to change. 

It updates it because you repeatedly experience yourself behaving differently. 

It needs evidence. 

How (apply it to your life)

Step 1: Be brutally honest as you write down who you are today, in detail. 

Not who you wish you were. 

Who are you when nobody is watching?

Do you procrastinate?

Do you quit when things get hard?

Do you wait until you're "ready"?

Do you need external validation to get started?

No shame -- just observation. 

Step 2: Now describe in nitty gritty detail the version of you you're becoming. 

If you were genuinely disciplined / destined for success / confident / whatever your goal:

What happens when the alarm goes off?

What do you do when the motivation disappears?

How does this version of you respond to setbacks?

Make this person specific enough that you could recognise them. 

Step 3: Make the evidence ridiculously easy. 

Here's where most people go wrong:

They choose goals that are bigger than their nervous system feels safe attempting. 

So, shrink the goal until it feels almost silly. 

Instead of "Go to the gym three times a week" start with "Research gyms near me" or "walk through the front door." 

The easier it is to repeat, the faster you'll collect evidence.

Step 4: Celebrate every win. 

Every single time you do even the tiniest version of being the new you and taking an itty-bitty step towards that goal: 

Pause. Acknowledge it. Congratulate yourself. 

Completing the goal isn't necessary. This is about collecting proof for your new identity. 

Your brain slowly starts to upgrade the pattern from:

"I'm someone who never follows through" to "I'm someone who keeps promises to myself" or whatever updated story you need to become the new you*. 

That's how identity changes. Not through positive thinking. 

But through repeated, lived experiences that feel safe enough to repeat. 

Now...read this: 

This Saturday, I'm teaching a ​Scorpion Handstand Class​ and you're invited to join! 

What was your reaction? Was it "That's way beyond me...I could never." 

Well..maybe it is. But maybe it's just an old identity talking. 

This class isn't for advanced circus artists. 

If you can kick up to a wall and hold yourself in handstand for around 10 seconds, you already meet the entry requirements. 

Sometimes the biggest obstacle isn't your mobility, strength, or balance. 

It's the story you've been telling yourself about what's "for people like me." 

Because once you genuinely believe you are disciplined, confident, or capable..

NOT acting that way starts to feel uncomfortable. 

Your behaviours no longer require willpower. They simply become an expression of who you believe you are. 

You don’t rise to your goals. You return to your identity. Until you change it.

So...what do you think? Join me for​ class on Saturday? It's at 13:00 UTC​ and you get the replay for 3 months after the live. 

Adell 

*​Watch my newest Vlog​ where I give two examples of how I've used this method in my own life, in small but important ways: overcoming travel anxiety, and finally not low-key hating teaching workshops because my brain made it feel akin to jumping into a viper pit. 

Want to go way deeper with me? 👀 ​

• Join ​Handstand Club and Handstand Club Mini ​
• Sign up to my next NeuroYoga TTC where I teach YOU how to blend yoga + neurology
• Join me on Move With Adell -- your brain-based yoga hub -- Click here to start your FREE trial.
• Check out the courses from Z-health, where I started my education in brain-based approaches: Click here for my discount codes on their first 3 courses!
• Get my book "Too Flexible to Feel Good: A Practical Roadmap to Managing Hypermobility"