Reading Time: <2 minutes (Two-page handwritten letter)

My inbox was on fire yesterday--thank you to everyone who got the point and sent support. It took me almost two hours to answer everyone's emails--amazing!! It's a good thing it was monthly admin day at Honoree Enterprises HQ!

Okay, so where were we?

Ah yes. Ms. Cat Food—the woman who came face-to-face with a can of Fancy Feast and won! ...and she's kept it off for 20 years.

20!

Let's pause here, because this is where most weight loss stories go to die. Someone loses weight, celebrates, posts the before-and-after photos, and then... six months later, a year later, five years later... it's all back. Plus interest.

If you're someone who has struggled with the last 10, 15, or 20 pounds, you're not alone. I'm right there with you. Striking the right balance between what I want later and what I want now (especially married to a world-class brisket smoker and the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Claus, who can seriously cook), is a daily thing.

But not Ms. Cat Food. She's a total beast and I want to talk about what makes her and her results different, nay, the exception.

It wasn't the cat food (as we've established), or even a super-human amount of willpower. She didn't suddenly have the metabolism of an elite athlete.

Here's what she did: She changed her identity.

She didn't treat her weight-loss goal as a temporary project, something to accomplish and then check off the list. She didn't say, "Wow, I'm glad that's over!"

She didn't want to lose weight, although the reunion and that goal were the starting point. She wanted to change her life and her long-term results.

She changed how she saw herself and she stopped living to eat and started eating to live.

Willpower only goes so far, but an internal belief, I'm the type of person who does X, no matter what or I'm a person who never does Y, ever makes all the difference.

It's something you do vs. who you are.

For example, "I'm the type of person who goes to bed early so I can get up early and crus the day." "I'm a person who never does street drugs, ever."

A writer doesn't have to force themselves to write—they write because that's what writers do. An entrepreneur doesn't have to psych themselves up to work on their business—that's just what they do. Someone who takes care of their body doesn't have to white-knuckle their way past the donuts—they just don't eat them, because that's not aligned with who they are.

Ms. Cat Food didn't just build a system, though she did build a system. She also rebuilt herself.

And that's what made her results stick.

She didn't just change what she did. She changed who she was in her mind.

So, now let's talk about you. What identity shift do you need to make?

Not only answer a question, such as: "What do you want to accomplish?" but let's try this instead: "Who do you need to become in order to easily achieve your outcomes?"

Because when you get your mind(set) right, your goals becomes inevitable.

Ms. Cat Food became someone who made intentional choices about her health. And once that shift happened? The weight has stayed off. For 20 years. Because she wasn't trying to maintain weight loss—she was just being herself.

Your turn:

What identity shift would change everything for you?

Reply and let me know. I read every response.

ICYMI, I've officially adopted taking Sundays as a rest day. Yes, I do miss 1977.

See you Monday,