I’m The Kind Of Person

I’ve created a workout called “20’s.”

It includes twenty reps of the following exercises with no rest:

• Chinups
• Pressups
• Burpees
• Squats
• Supine rows
• Pike pushups
• Situps

One round is one set.

I try to do each set as quickly as possible.

I do three sets.

This works my whole body, gets my heart pumping, and takes around 3-5 minutes per set – it’s designed specifically for busy days.

Yesterday I felt a bit sluggish.

I went for a walk and did a little warm up, but didn’t feel like working out, so instead of my usual strength routine, I thought I’d do three sets of “20’s.”

I completed set two sluggishly, did some stretching, lay around on my mat re-reading The Tao of Pooh and thought about resigning the third set.

But I didn’t.

The only reason I didn’t was because of a mental technique that came up in our podcast with Dan Allen a few days earlier.

The “I’m the kind of person…” technique that I learned from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits.

The idea is to create an identity that you must live by.

By saying, “I’m the kind of person that doesn’t give up halfway through a workout” or “I’m the type of person who doesn’t fail” or “I’m the type of person who breaks through barriers,” my ego only has one way to go, in line with my identity.

I accomplished my personal best with the third set, in just under three minutes.

Should we be surprised that the body follows the mind?

Creating an identity is just one way to trick your ego into becoming a better person.

“Fake it ’till you make it” they say.

The next time you feel like procrastinating, shirking responsibility or hiding from your fears, try finishing the sentence “I’m the kind of person…”