Set Intentions for your Identity.
The act of setting daily intentions with the purpose of being more productive and having clarity during the day works incredibly well. Every morning, I sit down, and set 3 main priorities for the day and block time to get them done. The reward is the process itself — the ability to accomplish a set of goals with energy, clarity, and presence. This sequence of steps is replicated with weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. And if it works so well with productivity, why not following the same structure in different categories?
Brendon Burchard, the author of High-Performance Habits, suggests a daily exercise to define intentions for your identity — which then guides behavior. Every morning, during my morning routine, I repeat the 4 words I chose as identity shapers: "Grateful", "Kind", "Excited" and "Present." These same 4 words are repeated throughout the day and I'm notified of them with a phone-reminder.
I'm not aiming for perfection. But I'm aiming for something — a more conscious way of approaching the day, be it in the interactions with myself and others, while working on my goals and when performing any other activity. During the day, I notice my mood, my tone of voice, and my engagement change when I'm reminded of the identity I set for myself.
The instruction is simple: define 3-5 aspirational words, repeat them consciously throughout your day, and let them shape your identity.
“We must set intentions for who we are, for what roles we wish to serve, for how we’ll relate with the world.”