I Am Someone Who

I was mid-training recently when I caught my mind drifting.

Not dramatically. Just the quiet, creeping kind of distraction that pulls you half a step out of what you’re doing. The kind where you’re still pedalling, still moving, but you’re not quite there.

So I said something to myself.

“I am someone who is focused in the present moment.“

Not a reminder. Not a telling-off. Just a statement about who I am.

It worked.

It’s a small example of something bigger; the power of athlete identity.

Why The Words Matter

There’s a difference between telling yourself what to do and telling yourself who you are.

“Stay focused” is an instruction. It implies you’re currently failing at something and need to correct it.

“I am someone who is focused in the present moment” is an identity statement. It doesn’t point at a problem. It points at a person and invites you to act like that person.

That distinction sounds small. It isn’t.

A 2019 review published in Frontiers in Psychology found that habits and self-concept actively shape each other. Behaviours we repeat get woven into our sense of who we are. And once that happens, the identity itself starts cueing the behaviour;   not just willpower, not just reminders, but a deep internal pull toward acting in line with who you believe yourself to be.

In other words, when you start telling yourself who you are, you start becoming that person.

The Rule About Framing

Before you start building your own statements, there’s one rule that matters.

They have to be positive.

Not positive as in cheerful but positive as in pointed toward something, not away from something.

“I am someone who doesn’t fail” doesn’t work. It keeps failure in the frame. Your brain hears the word “fail” and that’s where attention goes.

“I am someone who finds a way” works. It gives your brain something to move toward.

The statement has to describe who you are, not what you’re avoiding. Every time you say it, you’re casting a small vote for that version of yourself. Make sure you’re voting for something real.

Where Athletes Can Use This

Athlete identity isn’t just a race day tool. It works anywhere attention matters, which in XCO is basically everywhere.

In training, when the effort gets uncomfortable and your mind starts looking for an exit.

In the warm-up, when race day noise is pulling your attention in every direction.

On the start line, when nerves arrive and doubt tries to take up space.

Mid-race, when a mistake happens and your brain wants to carry it into the next section.

In recovery, when consistency feels harder than motivation. The statement anchors you. It gives you something true to return to when everything else feels uncertain.

Some Examples To Start With

You don’t need to use these exactly. But if you’re not sure where to begin, try one of these on and see how it fits.

I am someone who is focused in the present moment.

I am someone who stays composed.

I am someone who resets quickly.

I am someone who shows up consistently.

I am someone who finds another gear when it gets hard.

I am someone who trusts their preparation.

I am someone who finds something to build on in every session.

I am someone who holds their form when it counts most.

The best statement is the one that speaks directly to where you struggle most. Not where you’re already strong but where you’re trying to grow. That’s where identity work does its best work.

How To Actually Use It

Say it before you need it, not only when you’re already in trouble.

Build it into your warm-up. Say it before a hard interval. Write it somewhere you’ll see it on race morning. The more times you say it and then act in line with it, the more it becomes simply true and not just an aspiration, but a description.

Start with one statement. Not five. Just one.

Say it consistently. Back it up with action. And watch what happens to the gap between who you are right now and who you’re becoming.

The Bottom Line

Your brain is always listening to how you talk about yourself.

“I am someone who…” is one of the most powerful ways to direct that conversation because it doesn’t describe a goal, it describes a person.

And every time you say it and then act like it’s true, you make it a little more true.

You try it…

I am someone who…

What comes next is up to you.

I really enjoy writing these articles and if you enjoyed this one, you might like some of the others I have written on my blog.