You Aren’t Who You Think You Are
- Dave Anderson
- Jun 3
- 3 min read
You are who your actions prove you are!
Who we think we are only reflects our own point of view. What I think about myself and who I am are often two different things. All of us know people who don’t see themselves clearly. They think they are funny, but they are not. They think they are good listeners, but they are not. They think they are selfless, but they are not. What they think about themselves is not aligned with how they actually behave - what they actually do.
You have to DO what you want to BE.
You can think of yourself in one way, but if your day to day actions don’t prove that you are that type of person, then you are deluding yourself.
You may think you are courageous, but if you consistently avoid uncomfortable situations, you are actually something else. You may think you are humble, but if you consistently need the spotlight, you are actually something else. You may think you have Integrity, but if you use white lies to get out of uncomfortable situations, then you are actually something else.
If your actions are not aligned with who you think you are, it may be time to reconsider who it is you are and who you want to be. Yes, becoming the person you want to be STARTS with thinking about it. But that is only the start.
For example, if you decide you want to become a more selfless person, it starts with thinking about it. But then you need to talk about it with others in order to understand what you can actually do to exercise Selflessness. The next step is then to take action and do what selfless people do. Each time you make the choice to take action and be selfless and do what selfless people do, it will become easier to make that choice again. With each choice you make, you are closer to making Selflessness a habit. And once those selfless choices are automatic (think muscle memory), that is when you have actually become that selfless person.
You see, thinking selfless thoughts is not enough. To truly be selfless we must actually do selfless things on a habitual basis. That is what actually makes us selfless.
All the Six Habits of Character: Courage, Humility, Integrity, Selflessness, Duty, and Positivity become part of our character the same way - through action.
So my encouragement to you is, stop thinking about being that person! Go out there and actually DO what you want to BE! All it requires is taking all that thinking you’ve been doing and actually putting it into action. Each time you take action and exercise that Habit of Character, you are another step closer to building that habit and actually becoming that Leader of Character you’ve been thinking about becoming!
Question:
- Who do your actions prove that you are?
- What new choices can you make to start becoming who you want to be?
Audiobook sales have taken over for ebook sales. When we first published Becoming a Leader of Character in 2017, people were predicting ebooks were going to kill traditional hard copy print books.
That didn’t happen. In fact, print books’ percentage of sales are very similar to what they were in 2017 when we first published. What has changed is that audiobooks have eaten away at ebook sales.
Therefore, if you have been waiting on the audiobook version of Becoming a Leader of Character it is now here! You can get it on Spotify, Audible or any other major platform for audiobooks.
While you drive or workout, marinate your brains in the Six Habits of Character - Courage, Humility, Integrity, Selflessness, Duty, and Positivity.
Order now on your favorite platform:
(Audible is coming soon!)
Audible: Will be available in the coming weeks. We will let you know as soon as Audible makes it available.
