Who Does the World Want You to Be? - Grasshopper

You know, if you had to sum it up in just a couple of words, the answer might be this: Outside/In.

From the moment you’re born, the world starts shaping you–from the outside. Right after you hit the air, people start assigning labels. “Pretty girl!” “Handsome boy!” And just like that, the shaping begins.

We soak it all in without even realizing it–beliefs, preferences, habits, even prejudices–handed down like old clothes. And it doesn’t stop there. As we grow, other voices jump in: teachers, religious leaders, peers, advertisers. Just ask any parent who's taken their 4-year-old to the grocery store and heard, “Mommy, I want Count Chocula®!”

The world basically wants you to be a copy of itself–its fears, its dreams, its expectations. But here’s the good news: once you see that, really see it, you’re standing at the doorway to change.

That’s your moment. The moment you get to choose: Who do I want to be?

Now–crossing that threshold? It’s not easy. You’re going to bump up against the habits you’ve been carrying around for years. Like that famous line from The Godfather Part III–“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

So how do you break free?

You interrupt yourself.

It reminds me of something from my Navy days . . .

In basic training, we were issued boots made from the cheapest leather you can imagine. Getting them to shine was nearly impossible. But our job was to make the toe look like a black mirror. The method? Spit-shining. You'd rub polish on, dip a cloth in water, make tiny circles–over and over and over. Eventually, you’d get a little shiny spot about the size of a dime. Then you'd keep going until the whole toe gleamed.

That’s what this interruption process is like.

It takes patience. Repetition. Commitment. If you don’t stick to your stick-to-itivesness, you’re stuck with your old behaviors.

But every time you catch yourself and make a different choice? You put a wedge between stimulus and reaction. That’s progress. And in that space between the two, something new starts to grow.

I promise you–this works. You just have to work it.

If you want more on this, I wrote a whole book about it: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. You can grab it for free at my website: GrasshopperNotes.com. 

Download it today and start making changes that will last a lifetime.

A new you is just an interruption away.