How I Tricked Myself Into Believing I Could

What It Covers

Rob Dial of The Mindset Mentor explains how he rebuilt his self-identity before having any evidence of success, using four concrete techniques — behavioral action, vivid visualization, anxiety reappraisal, and deliberate language shifts — to override the brain's default prediction patterns and create lasting identity change.

Key Questions Answered

• •Predictive Processing & Identity: The brain operates on predictive processing theory, forecasting the future based solely on past data. This means it will actively resist growth by defaulting to familiar patterns. To override this, take actions that contradict your old identity consistently — your brain will eventually reclassify those new behaviors as "who you are" through cognitive dissonance resolution.
• •Self-Perception Theory (Bem, 1972): Humans don't form beliefs first and then act — they observe their own actions and form beliefs afterward. This means confidence is not a prerequisite for action; it is a byproduct of it. Start taking the actions of the person you want to become before feeling ready, and your brain will update its identity file accordingly.
• •Vivid Visualization as Memory Encoding: A Harvard study found that participants who mentally rehearsed piano playing activated the same motor cortex regions as those who physically practiced. Because the brain cannot distinguish between vivid imagination and real experience, deliberately visualizing success in sensory detail — sights, smells, feelings — plants artificial past memories the brain then uses to predict future outcomes.
• •Anxiety Reappraisal (University of Toronto Research): Anxiety and excitement are physiologically near-identical — both spike heart rate and release adrenaline and cortisol. The only difference is the brain's interpretation. When fear arises before an unfamiliar action, ask "Is this unsafe or just unfamiliar?" This reframe, called anxiety reappraisal, converts threat response into performance-enhancing energy rather than a stop signal.
• •Language & Self-Schema Updates: Psycholinguistics research shows personal language directly shapes self-perception. Saying "I am anxious" creates a fixed identity statement, while "I feel anxious" creates a temporary state. Replace identity-locking phrases like "I'm not that type of person" with directional statements such as "I'm becoming someone who follows through" to continuously update the brain's internal self-schema and shift automatic behavior.