Welcome back, everybody, to The Ed Mylett Show! Today, I've got an incredibly special episode for you. I'm discussing what may be the most critical thing you'll need to know to #MAXOUT your life. People often ask me what areas of my life that I focused on the most to become immensely successful, and on today's show, I'm giving you the first thing that I say to them. I'm discussing the POWER of your IDENTITY and how it's your primary key for optimizing your life. Have you ever progressed to a certain point in an area of your life, like your business, relationships, or fitness, but you eventually reverted back to where you were before you progressed? People often think that external factors determine the direction of their lives, but I'm here to tell you today that that's not the case. Your internal identity shapes your external circumstances. Your identity will determine your direction in life, and it's only up to you, your faith, and your God to control your life's trajectory. Your identity is made up of your thoughts, ideas, concepts, and beliefs that you hold to be true about yourself, and the most crucial step you need to take to #MAXOUT your life is to be consistent with your identity.  Today, I'm going to describe how your identity is your internal thermostat that determines your life's direction, and I'll give you four key strategies for increasing the temperature of your internal thermostat. Those strategies include associating with people with higher temperatures, shocking your system by drastically changing your behavior, getting rid of what no longer serves you, and evaluating the story that you're telling yourself. We've got a lot of material to cover that will completely change your life, so let's dive in!

Your IDENTITY Is the Thermostat of Your Life

One of my favorite quotes about identity was written by the playwright William Shakespeare. He states, "We know what we are, but not what we may be." Who you are going to become is determined by your ability to shape your identity. Your identity is like a thermostat on the wall that regulates the temperature of your life.  Now, think about the function of a thermostat in a room. External temperatures may temporarily enter the room when you open a window, but the thermostat will always bring the temperature back down to where you set it. Our internal thermostat works the same way. Good and bad external things will happen, but you'll always return to the default temperature on your thermostat. The problem with most people is that they work tirelessly on external results, but they fail to work on their identity. Have you ever known someone who acquired a lot of money but then lost it? How about someone who was in amazing shape but now they're out of shape? If your external results exceed your internal thermostat, you will regulate your external results to return to where you were.  For example, let's say that being incredibly fit has a temperature of 150 degrees, and let's associate the average American fitness level with 80 degrees. If your internal thermostat is set at 80 degrees, it doesn't matter if you ever get in great shape because your internal thermostat will make your default fitness state at 80 degrees. You may have a period of results, but you will revert to your default internal temperature. You will fall back to what you believe you are worth, and you'll more than likely attribute it to circumstance rather than identity. You'll say, "Oh, I just haven't had time to exercise," or attribute it to another external factor, but in reality, you're returning to the temperature that you feel comfortable with. Your internal thermostat also applies when bad external things happen. Have you ever said to yourself, "I'm never going to get over this tragic thing," or "I'll never be happy again?” Your internal temperature rose to its default state, and you were able to move on with your life. You prove this time and time again with the good and bad external things that happen to you. You ALWAYS  return to where you set your internal thermostat.  We have different thermostats for every area of our lives. We have multiple identities that determine our direction with our fitness, relationships, wealth, faith, and every other area of our lives. Once you come to this realization, you can begin to work on your identity with different tactics and strategies so that you can HEAT the areas of your life that mean the most to you. The key to changing the external things in your life is to work on your internal thermostat. When you work on your identity, you WILL see results.  I am absolutely obsessed with evaluating and raising my internal thermostat, and it's the main thing that I teach when I do my private coaching with athletes, business people, and politicians. When you raise your internal thermostat higher, the external conditions will match it.  For example, if you can increase your internal thermostat for your fitness to 150 degrees, you WILL match those conditions and become incredibly fit. And this is true for every one of your internal thermostats. You need to work on your thoughts and beliefs about yourself to make long-term changes to your life.  

Strategy #1: Associate with People Who Have a Higher Temperature

The easiest way to raise your internal thermostat is by associating with people who have a higher temperature. Have you ever found yourself acting a new way because you were associating with new people? The people around you affect your internal thermostat, so if you want to increase your temperature in a particular area, associate with people who have a higher thermostat in that area.  If you're 80 degrees fitness-wise and you begin associating with people who are at 150 degrees, you can increase your internal thermostat. You'll raise your internal thermostat to somewhere between your original 80 degrees and their 150 degrees. This works in every area of your life. If you associate closely with more financially successful people, you will raise your financial thermostat. After you raise your thermostat, you WILL make the external conditions happen to match your internal thermostat.  Think about the primary way that children develop. Out of the many different people influencing a child, their friends shape them the most, and this is because children are around their friends for the most amount of time.  An essential part of bringing up your internal thermostat with your associations is making a conscious effort to study and observe the people around you. Ask them questions and learn more about their high-temperature areas. If you're trying to increase your business thermostat, ask them questions regarding their business practices and their success strategies. This also takes a great deal of trust. You're surrendering yourself to them because you’re consciously allowing them to impact you. You need to open yourself up to their influence to increase your internal thermostat. 

Strategy #2: Shock Your System by Changing Your Behavior

The second thing that you can do to increase your internal thermostat is to BEHAVE completely differently over a short period of time. Be extremely productive in the area you're trying to improve so you can shock your system and trick your brain into believing that you are no different. Your brain wants to remain consistent with what it believes you're worth. If you completely change your behavior, your brain will believe that you deserve something better.  In the next 30 days, I'm going to shock my system with a new fitness routine. I'm altering my diet dramatically, and I'm going to greatly increase my workout routine. I'm going to shock my system by drastically changing my behavior. I'm tricking my brain into raising my fitness thermostat. I'll believe that I CAN make my fitness goals happen, and then I'll make the external conditions occur because of my beliefs.  Beliefs are absolutely crucial for your SUCCESS and raising your internal thermostat. When you believe something, your brain goes to work to prove your beliefs correct. When you work towards a goal, you're going to put in the effort that matches your beliefs about yourself.  For example, if you have a goal that is consistent with the beliefs you have about yourself, you're going to be able to put in the effort to reach that goal. You always make an effort that is consistent with your internal thermostat, so if you believe that your fitness is at 80 degrees, you're only going to put in the effort that matches that belief about yourself. It doesn't matter if you set a high goal for yourself because you're only going to put in the amount of effort that matches your internal thermostat.  After you make an effort towards your goal, the outcome then reinforces your belief about yourself. If you fail because you set your internal thermostat at 80 degrees, your lack of results will reinforce the beliefs that you have about yourself. Your thermostat will remain the same because you just proved your beliefs to be correct. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you set your internal thermostat high enough to meet your goals, you will accomplish what you're striving toward, and your accomplishment will reinforce your positive beliefs about yourself. You have to work on your IDENTITY and BELIEFS to get the results you want!

Strategy #3: Get Rid of What No Longer Serves You 

Strategy number three is getting rid of whatever you no longer need in your life. These can be many different things — It could be a behavior, a thought, a belief, an emotion, or even a person. You have different things that have brought to this point in your life that now only hinder your growth. Maybe you're practicing a habit or behavior that helped you under different circumstances that you now no longer need. You might have certain beliefs about yourself that you needed to protect yourself in a difficult moment, but now it's only contributing negativity to your life. Maybe there are people who got you through a difficult circumstance that now keep you from growing in your identity. Many different things can contribute to keeping your internal thermostat stuck. If something keeps you from raising your internal thermostat, it's detrimental to your growth and external results. If something is no longer serving you and contributing to your growth, you need to drop it RIGHT NOW. 

Strategy #4: Evaluate the Story You're Telling Yourself

The final strategy is critical for growing in your personal identity. You need to evaluate the story you're telling yourself and recognize if it's prohibiting your growth. If you're feeling stuck in your life, I guarantee you that it's because of the story that you keep telling yourself. Your story no longer serves you, so it's time to get rid of it.  There are many different kinds of stories that you tell yourself that may no longer be serving you. Maybe it's a story involving your upbringing, a past relationship, or success that you no longer have. Those old stories do NOT serve the person that you're going to become. Every second you spend focused on your old stories is taking time away from writing your new story.   You are the lead character in the story of your life, and at any moment of your life, you can decide to be a new character. You can decide for yourself that you're strong, handsome, or successful. You and your God are the only ones controlling the script of your life, but you can't bring your old story with you if you're becoming a new character.  Writing a new story is essential for establishing a new identity and raising your internal thermostat. Don't focus on past successes or failures because the truth is that NOBODY CARES about your old accomplishments and setbacks. All the energy that you focus on your old character is just wasted time.  One of the most substantial keys to my SUCCESS is that I'm never telling my old story. I'm always writing my new script and my new character that I'm becoming. I'm obsessed with writing the new chapters of my life — not reading the old chapters. Those old chapters don't serve me, and they only hinder my growth. Don't remain stuck in the story that you've been telling yourself. Write a new story to raise your internal thermostat and #MAXOUT your life. Become a new, BETTER version of yourself rather than waste time telling your old story.

#MAXOUT Your Life Through the Power of Identity 

Working on your identity is the key to success. When someone asks me what the primary key is to my success, I tell them that it is my OBSESSION with working on my IDENTITY.  Merely being aware of this concept of working on your identity to bring external change will put you WAY ahead of most people in this world. Raise your internal thermometer by implementing the strategies that I discussed. Again, the first thing that I do is associate with people at a higher temperature. Second, I drastically change my behavior in short bursts to shock my system. Next, I drop anything that is no longer serving me. Finally, I evaluate the story that I'm telling myself, and I continuously focus on writing my new character.  If you implement these strategies, your life will COMPLETELY change. When you work on your personal identity, you'll change your life's external circumstances, and you will move forward towards SUCCESS and #MAXOUT your life!.  I hope that my advice has helped you today, and I want to help as many people as possible, so please share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. Share it on Instagram and tag me @Edmylett and use the hashtag #MAXOUT to share the strategy you found to be the most helpful. And don't forget to participate in my two-minute drill! I make a post every day, and those of you who comment within two minutes will have a chance to win a variety of awesome prizes, including a coaching session, MAXOUT gear, and a copy of my book. Also, make sure to check out the show on the different platforms we're using. If you're a listener, check out video versions of the episodes on YouTube, and if you're not already subscribed to the podcast, make sure to subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Remember, don't only focus on the external results of your life. You NEED to work on your personal identity to make long-lasting changes. Start working on your internal thermostat RIGHT NOW and write the BEST version of yourself.