1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: Hello, How I work, Listener. My latest book, The Health 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: Habit is coming out on January nine, but you can 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: pre order it now wherever you buy books. If you're 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: stuck in a cycle of unhealthy habits, then The Health 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: Habit will help you design a personalized, science backed plan 6 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: to change your habits for good. My name is doctor 7 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: Amantha Imber. I'm an organizational psychologist and the founder of 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: behavior change consultancy Inventium. And this is how I work, 9 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: a show about how to help you get so much 10 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: more out of the hours in your day. For the 11 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: next few weeks, I am sharing a few extracts from 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: my new book, The Health Habit. Today's extract is all 13 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: about how recreating your identity will help make healthy habits stick. 14 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: Growing up, I was the poster child for sports in aptitude. 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: In every athletics race, I would finish so far behind 16 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: that even the dust had settled. As for sports teams, 17 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: I excelled at benchwarming, making me an invaluable asset to 18 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: any team in search of a one woman cheer squad. 19 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,040 Speaker 1: I also didn't look the part. What I thought was 20 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: baby fat was probably just actual fat. My body didn't 21 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: resemble the sporty popular girls. So based on all this data, 22 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: I just assumed that a world of sport and fitness 23 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,040 Speaker 1: was not for me. As I grew into my late 24 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: teens and twenties, I started to exercise more, but exercise 25 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: was only a means to an end, a way to 26 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: lose the final five kilos that I was on a 27 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:40,559 Speaker 1: lifelong battle to shift. I joined gyms and even worked 28 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: out at some. I went to hundreds of aerobics classes 29 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: involving plastic steps and boxing moves, and I clocked up 30 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: thousands of kilometers of walking in my thirties. When Frankie 31 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: was born, I decided to become a runner, although really 32 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: it involved jogging at a snail's pace. In Frankie's first 33 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: few years of life, I would go on a twenty 34 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: to thirty minute jog with Frankie and her Pram several 35 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: times a week. But then I injured my knee and 36 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: my physiotherapist suggested that jogging might not be the best 37 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: exercise for me. More data to suggest that I just 38 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: wasn't the fit, sporty type. It was back to the bench. 39 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: But about five years ago, after going through different exercise 40 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: phases such as bar functional fitness, and pilates. Nothing had stuck. 41 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 1: Late one evening, I was trawling the internet for the 42 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: next fitness thing I could get into, and I came 43 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: across a group called Fitbliss Fitness in Utah in the 44 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: United States. They described themselves as taking an evidence based 45 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: approach to women's fitness. They didn't believe in diets or fads. 46 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: They had university qualifications in fitness and nutrition. They seemed 47 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: to really know their stuff, and I found all this 48 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: tremendously appealing. I signed up for an introductory call to 49 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: learn more. I was paired with a coach called Sammy, 50 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: who I ended up working with for a round two years. 51 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: Sammy wrote me weightlifting programs. I would send her videos 52 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: of my form to comment on a few times a month, 53 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: and I'd send through data of my progress every week. 54 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: When Jim's closed down in March twenty twenty, I set 55 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: up a home gym at a corner of my garage 56 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: so I could continue my weights program with Sammy. And 57 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: after many years, well a lifetime of not seeing myself 58 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: as someone who was into fitness and sport, I realized 59 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: that I had changed. I was fit and I was strong, 60 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: two words I had never previously associated with myself. Psychologists 61 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: have long known that our self identity has a big 62 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: impact on our behavior. Our self identity refers to how 63 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: we see ourselves, especially when it comes to making decisions, 64 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: and people like to act in a way that is 65 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: consistent with their self identity our health. Self identity is 66 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: one of the biggest predictors of eating a loafat diet, 67 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: consuming organic produce, reducing alcohol consumption, and munching down on 68 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: more fruit and vegetables. Research published in the Journal of Nutrition, Education, 69 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: and Behavior found that people who agreed with statements such 70 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: as eating fruits and vegetables as an important part of 71 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: who I am and I am the type of person 72 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: who eats fruit and vegetables was significantly more likely to 73 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:23,280 Speaker 1: eat fruit and vegetables. Indeed, people identifying with being a 74 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:27,159 Speaker 1: fruit and vegetable eater was a stronger predictor of eating 75 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: these foods compared to one's attitudes towards fruit and vegetables 76 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: such as enjoying eating them, and even compared to past 77 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 1: eating behavior. People literally believe they are what they eat, 78 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: and we believe something to be true, it becomes the 79 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: easy option to act in a way that is consistent 80 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: with this self identity. Doctor Lane Norton, who we met 81 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:51,840 Speaker 1: in part one of this book, told me that one 82 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: of the commonalities shared by people who lose weight and 83 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: keep it off compared to those who don't, is that 84 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: they form a new identity. I actually found this quite profound. 85 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: Norton shared with me. An example would be saying to yourself, well, 86 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 1: I have to go to the gym if I want 87 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: to lose weight, versus I'm someone who goes to the gym, 88 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: or I'm someone who exercises. Norton told me about a 89 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,799 Speaker 1: friend of his, Ethan Suppley, a film and TV actor, 90 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: who lost about one hundred and thirty kilograms and kept 91 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: it off. Norton told me he has a phrase he uses, 92 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: which is I killed my clone today. One day I 93 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: messaged him and asked him if he meant he was 94 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: forming a new identity. He said, that is exactly what 95 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: I mean. There is still that other person inside me, 96 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: and I have to kill that person by being someone else. 97 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: A lot of people just think about going on a 98 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: diet and they're going to do the diet, and the 99 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: reality is, if you don't change your habits and behaviors. 100 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: And Rewire who you are as a person, you will 101 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: invariably fall back into the old habits and behaviors that 102 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: made you that way in the first place. As for 103 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: me and my self identity, after five years and still 104 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: counting of regular weight training, I genuinely see myself as 105 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: someone who is very fit and very strong. I think 106 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: back to my teenage self, who would have been shocked 107 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: to see herself three decades older as a healthy and 108 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: physically fit woman who is able to lift far heavier 109 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: objects compared to when youth was on her side harness 110 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: the hero. Step one, write down how you currently see 111 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: yourself in relation to the behavior you're trying to change. 112 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: For example, you might see yourself as someone who has 113 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:36,479 Speaker 1: trouble sleeping, someone who is unfit or weak, or someone 114 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: who eats too much sugar. Imagine your future self as 115 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 1: Step two, after you have stuck to your health habit 116 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: for several months, describe this person. For example, they find 117 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: it easy to get to sleep, they experience joy from 118 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: moving their body, They devour fruit and vegetables. Step three, 119 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: based on your future self description, write down a sentence 120 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: that could describe your new identity, such as, I find 121 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: it easy to get to sleep or I am a 122 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: consistent and deep sleeper. Spend a few moments picturing yourself 123 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: doing the behaviors and thinking about this new descriptor of yourself. 124 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,920 Speaker 1: Step four, when you engage in behaviors that reinforce this 125 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: new self identity, take a moment to congratulate yourself. You 126 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: are becoming the person you want to be. Step five 127 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: when you slip up, because you inevitably will channel your 128 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: new and improved self, and consider how they might respond. 129 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: For example, after a bad night's sleep due to a 130 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: delayed bedtime, you might simply acknowledge that we all have 131 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: nights where counting sheep turns into counting all the things 132 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: we messed up today, and that tomorrow night will be 133 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: much more sheep and sleep filled. If you found today's 134 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: episode useful, then I guarantee you will love my new book, 135 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: The Health Habit. Search for The Health Habit wherever you 136 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: get your books, and pre order your coffee today. Thank 137 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: you for sharing part of your day with me by 138 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: listening to how I work. If you are keen for 139 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: more tips on how to work better, connect with me 140 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: via LinkedIn or Instagram. I'm very easy to find. Just 141 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: search for Amantha Imba. How I Work was recorded on 142 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: the traditional land of the Warrangery people, part of the 143 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: Koln Nation. I am so grateful for being able to 144 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: work and live on this beautiful land, and I want 145 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: to pay my respects to elders, past, present and emerging. 146 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: How I Work is produced by Inventium with production support 147 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: from Dead Set Studios, and thank you to Martin Nimba 148 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: who did the audio mix and makes everything sound better 149 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: than it would have otherwise.