Any real change starts with a change in our self-image. That’s crucial and mostly overlooked.
In reality that’s overlooked when you try to change something difficult. When the change is easy, you think less and act more adequately… naturally!
1- Easy change
Think about it. How do you behave when, let’s say, you start a new hobby? You observe, you dive into everything that relates to your new activity, you start to get familiar with the new vocabulary, the new behaviors implied… You fully get yourself into the activity and you become yourself a member of this kind of community.
You become someone else, regarding this hobby, by becoming part of it. And you acquire a new image of yourself.
All that is just driven by your enthusiasm! And that’s not only the most easy way to change, but that’s also the most natural one.
2- Difficult change
On the other hand, when you think, or realize, what you want to change is difficult, you act differently. You think that you have to reach some goals, to achieve certain things first. And then will you be able to become this new person. But for now, you are not yet there.
At this moment you put yourself outside of the world you want to be in. And you set conditions which you have to fulfill before you can pretend to move in. Your image of yourself is clear: you’re an outsider.
Yet, that’s this idea of ourself that determines if we’re actually changing anything at all or not. The champion is already a champion in his head before he performs. And that’s exactly because he perceives himself as a champion that he behaves as such and gets the results that go with it!
Our self-image has to change at the same time as we act.
That’s a crucial point I teach in order to be able to speak another language. You must enter this new world and become a part of it. You must see yourself as a speaker of this language from the very begining. Even a “newborn” speaker.
There are techniques that can help a lot. But the best one is based on developing and focusing on the enthusiasm we have to change our world… and ourself!
