Becoming your story

I was actually thinking about this today asking myself how often you have to tell yourself who you are until you become that person.

It's a kind of positive feedback loop. Until I started research at university I used to just do enough to pass well. When I started doing research I started enjoying it much more and consequently started working more. I became a hard-working person, both to myself and others. And this in turn led me to work even harder (also when it wasn't so enjoyable).

Same goes for other things like sports, community service, etc...

This is something I myself have noticed. Most people just want to live a story; they don't care whether or not it's a success story or a tragedy- either is better than being boring.

This reminds me of the Coué method: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Cou%C3%A9#The_Cou.C3...

I noticed this pattern too, but doubt that it is healthy. It might help reaching goals but at the same time it distorts your perception of reality quite drastically. This again, can become very dangerous.

"serenity now - insanity later"

Solid piece. Having the right mindset will go along way for achievement. It will subconsciously guide you to making better decisions and give you the motivation to keep going when things get tough.