The New Normal

When it comes to improving your life, whether you’re aiming for a personal goal, adopting a new habit, or pursuing a challenge, there is one mental technique that can make a significant difference: instead of imagining an endpoint, visualize your goal as your New Normal.

This mental exercise is transformative because it shifts your perspective from a temporary challenge to a long-term lifestyle change. Rather than thinking of your goal as something you’re “working toward” for a fixed period of time, you begin to see it as an integral part of your life. Let’s explore this concept with a few examples:

Example 1: Adopting a Healthy Diet

Imagine you’re on a diet, trying to eat healthier. You may set a specific goal, such as following the diet for three months. But after a couple of months, you might start to slack off. You might allow cheat days or gradually slip back into old eating habits. This can lead to a complete fall-off from the diet, making it harder to sustain your progress in the long run.

Instead of seeing your healthy eating habits as a temporary '3-month challenge,' try visualizing them as part of your New Normal. Imagine telling yourself, “It’s normal that I eat healthy foods, that’s just how I live.” The goal isn’t to restrict yourself for a few months and then return to old habits. The goal is to change your lifestyle so that eating healthily becomes second nature.

By visualizing this transformation, you’ll start to internalize the change. Every healthy choice you make reinforces this idea, and you begin to see yourself as someone who simply lives a healthy life, not someone who’s on a temporary diet. In this way, the change becomes permanent and effortless.

Example 2: Waking Up Early

Let’s say you’re trying to wake up earlier to be more productive. You might set a goal to wake up at sunrise every day for a month, based on the idea that it takes about 30 days to form a habit. But if you see this one month as the finish line, it’s easy to fall back into your old routine once the month is over. You might start waking up 30 minutes later each day, eventually returning to where you started.

Instead, picture waking up early as part of your identity. Rather than thinking, “I’ll wake up early for a month,” tell yourself, “I’m someone who wakes up early every day because that’s who I am. I’m the type of person who maximizes my mornings and gets things done while others are still asleep.” By doing this, you internalize the habit, and it no longer feels like a temporary effort. It becomes part of your daily routine, no longer a challenge to “finish.”

Example 3: Building a Writing Habit

Now, let’s consider writing. Imagine you set the goal of writing 1,000 words a day for three months. This is something I personally did when I wanted to build a more consistent writing practice. But if you think of the 1,000 words a day as just a temporary goal, there’s a risk that once the three months are over, you’ll fall back into old habits and stop writing altogether.

Instead of treating the 1,000 words a day as a short-term goal, visualize yourself as a writer who writes 1,000 words every single day without fail. Don’t think of yourself as someone who is “trying to write” for a set period of time. Instead, imagine that you are someone who simply writes every day because it is part of who you are. Writing isn’t something you force yourself to do, it becomes an effortless part of your identity.

Why Does This Mental Shift Work?

This technique works because it aligns your goals with your identity. When you visualize your success as your new normal, you begin to internalize the habits and behaviors that support that identity. It’s no longer something you’re doing for a limited time, it becomes who you are. The more you embrace this new self-image, the more these behaviors become second nature, seamlessly integrated into your daily routine.

As you continue to live in alignment with your new identity, the things that once felt like challenges no longer require effort or willpower. They become automatic. Your new normal isn’t just an aspiration; it’s the way you live, and soon enough, it doesn’t feel like a struggle at all.

Visualizing Your New Normal

Take the first step today in making your goals your new normal. Whether it’s adopting a healthier lifestyle, becoming more productive, or building a consistent habit, visualize it as part of your everyday routine. Shift your mindset and embrace your new identity. Remember, the path to lasting success isn’t about forcing change, it’s about becoming the person who naturally lives the life you desire.