I became acutely aware of this when I did the #75hard a few years ago. About 30 days in my physical cravings for alcohol, sugars, being lazy started to decline, but I still felt those ideas and cravings in my mind. And after 60 days both my mind and body were mostly clear of those cravings and desires. But i could still tell they were there, just weaker and dormant- kinda like grass seeds in a dry field just waiting for rain. I went on to do the full live hard challenge for the year and no alcohol for the year… and as the year went on, my body’s cravings and my mind’s cravings changed. The things I remember desiring before I started felt less appealing to me and caused me to question if those desires were actually me or if they were just manifestations of the chemical changes those things fed in my body? And ultimately it led me to realize that most of what I thought of was me, was actually not truly me. It was just a version of me that was fed by the foods, habits and routines that dominated that time period of my life. And by drastically changing those things, the me that existed during and after the 75 hard challenge was different. And my big takeaway from this is that the you that you are now is not the real you. There is no “real you” just the version of you that either by action or inaction you have cultivated. But you can make the decision to cultivate and grow a different version of you. And this does take time because you have to starve the old version and build the new one with your habits and routines. But it’s possible and it’s worth it- especially if you’re able to look around yourself and recognize you’re not where you want to be. But you have to be strict and harsh and patient at the same time. Strict in the sense that you have to set new habits and routines. Harsh in that you have to know that most of the excuses, feelings and ideas you will have now are actually a product of your current self (the one you want to change) trying to stay in charge. And patient, bc change actually takes time- after-all you have to replace how food, nutrients and energy flow through your body and those systems (for better or worse) don’t change right away. But it’s worth it.