Become the You That Feels True: Tiny Shifts, Big Changes w/ John R. Miles | EP 633

Episode 633 kicks off the Power to Change series by challenging the myth that change must be dramatic to be meaningful. Through insights from experts like Katy Milkman, BJ Fogg, and Jud Brewer—as well as a personal story from Randy Blythe—John unpacks how behavior loops, emotional rewiring, and identity-focused habits form the foundation for sustainable transformation. This episode isn't about fixing yourself—it's about becoming someone you trust, one small shift at a time. Click Here for the Full ShownotesAnd if that framework sparked something in you—if you're thinking, “This is exactly what I need, but I’m not sure I’ll remember it in the moment…”—I’ve got something for you. I've created a free Becoming You Workbook, available inside The Ignition Room on Substack. It’s packed with:Tiny habits lead to identity-level transformationEmotions drive behavior loops—curiosity helps break themMicroshifts lead to macro impact when practiced consistentlyIf you want to train your nervous system to respond, not just react—👉 you can grab it now at theignitedlife.net. How to Connect with John:Connect with John on Twitter at @John_RMilesFollow him on Instagram at @John_R_MilesSubscribe to our main YouTube Channel and to our YouTube Clips ChannelFor more insights and resources, visit John’s websiteConnect with John Pre-Order The Mattering Effect: https://matteringeffect.com/Book John to Speak: https://johnrmiles.com/speaking/Keynotes, books, podcast, and resources: https://linktr.ee/John_R_MilesChildren’s Book — You Matter, Luma: https://youmatterluma.com/Substack: https://www.theignitedlife.net/Support the Movement: https://startmattering.com/. Every human deserves to feel seen, valued, and like they matter. Wear it. Live it. Show it. DisclaimerThe Passion Struck podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Passion Struck or its affiliates. This podcast is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00John R. Miles?

  Coming up next on Passion Struck, what if change doesn't start with a decision, but with a question? Not how do I fix my life, but who am I becoming right now? We tend to think that transformation requires massive willpower, sweeping decisions, or life-altering events. But the truth is far quieter. It lives in our microchoices, our self-talk, the loop that runs between who we've been and who we believe we're allowed to become. In this episode, we kick off our new series, The Power to Change, and

• 0:42John R. Miles?

  look at why tiny shifts done with intention might be the most powerful form of transformation there is. You don't need to become someone new. You need to remember who you were before the world told you to become someone else. Welcome to Passion Struck. Hi, I'm your host, John R. Miles, and on the show, we decipher the secrets, tips, and guidance of the world's most inspiring people and turn their wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you. Our mission is to help you unlock the power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of yourself. If you're new to the show, I offer advice and answer listener questions on Fridays.

• 1:25John R. Miles?

  We have long-form interviews the rest of the week with guests ranging from astronauts to authors, CEOs, creators, innovators, scientists, military leaders, visionaries, and athletes. Now, let's go out there and become passion-struck. Welcome to Passion Struck. I'm your host, John Miles, and this is episode 633. All month long, we're diving into the power to change, rewiring thoughts, behavior, and emotion. This series is for anyone who feels stuck in an old story and unsure how to step into a new one. Earlier this week, in episode 631, I sat down with Dr. Bob Rosen to talk about how change begins not with control, but with letting go.

• 2:10John R. Miles?

  His new book Detach is a powerful reminder that our attachments to ego, fear, and identity are often what block growth. And on Thursday, in episode 632, Karen Solmanson joined me to explore emotional micro shifts, those small soulful pivots that help us reclaim joy, confidence, and possibility after life knocks us down. Today, I am going deeper on the psychology of personal change with a solo episode that pulls from BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits Model, Katie Milkman's work on fresh starts and behavioral flexibility, and Dr. Judd Brewer's research on rewiring habit loops and anxiety.

• 2:51John R. Miles?

  We'll explore the science behind behavior loops and identity-based habits. Why awareness is more powerful than discipline, and how one small shift done consistently can create exponential change. You'll also find a free companion workbook available now inside the Ignited Life newsletter on Substack. Sign up at theignitedlife.net. Prefer to watch? Full video episodes and curated shorts are on YouTube at both John R. Miles and Passion Struck Clips. And if your organization is navigating change, I speak at conferences and leadership summits around the world on purposeful growth and human transformation. Details are at johnrmiles.com/speaking.

• 3:33John R. Miles?

  So if you've been asking, what needs to change? Maybe it's time to ask, what is trying to emerge? Let's dive into becoming who you were meant to be, the science of tiny, powerful shifts. Thank you for choosing Passion Struck and choosing me to be your host and guide on your journey to creating an intentional life. Now, let that journey begin.

• 4:00John R. Miles?

  Let's start with a lie. Most of us believe the lie of big change. We think that transformation requires a dramatic rupture, quitting your job, ending a relationship, selling your house, flying to Bali, doing something seismic to prove that you're

• 4:20John R. Miles?

  Ready to become someone new. That's the myth that only massive movie-worthy actions lead to real personal growth. But here's the truth. Change rarely begins with a dramatic leap. It usually starts with one small, quiet, powerful decision. Not a grand announcement, not an Instagram-worthy pivot. A single moment of clarity. One that often happens when no one else is watching. Consider the real-life story of Randy Blythe, lead singer of the band Lamb of God, while he interviewed in episode 574. Now, if you don't know Randy's story, you might assume his moment of awakening came with headlines and handcuffs.

• 5:04John R. Miles?

  He's lived hard, he's been through hell, and has seen more chaos than most of us can imagine. But when he made the decision to get sober, it didn't happen on a stage, or in a jail cell, or in some 12-step circle of rock-bottom drama. It happened in a hotel room in Australia. He was alone, hungover, and tired. He told me it was one of the most sober and rational decisions I'd ever made. I just knew this wasn't who I wanted to be anymore. Not fanfare, no rock star epiphany, just a moment of internal honesty. And in that stillness, he changed the trajectory of his entire life.

• 5:48John R. Miles?

  That's how change actually happens. Not with explosions, with alignment. And science backs this up. My friend Katie Milkman, a behavioral scientist at Wharton, calls this the "fresh start effect." In her interview, she explained how our brains are wired to embrace change more easily during moments that feel like clean slates, like first days, birthdays, Mondays, new seasons. People change best when they feel like they're at a fresh start, she told me. But you don't have to wait to New Year's Day. You can create the window yourself. So what does that mean for you? It means today, right now, could be your

• 6:30John R. Miles?

  If you name it as one, if you decide to mark this moment as the beginning of something better, and if you're still skeptical, look at what BJ Fogg's research tells us. He's the Stanford professor behind the New York Times bestselling book Tiny Habits, and he's flipped the old model of behavioral change on its head. You don't need to overhaul your life, you just need to lower the bar. According to Fogg, successful change doesn't come from motivation. It comes from designing micro behaviors that are easy, repeatable, and are connected to identity. Want to become a reader? Start by opening the book, not finishing a chapter. Want to get stronger?

• 7:14John R. Miles?

  Just roll out the yoga mat. You don't have to commit to 45 minutes. People think they lack motivation, Fogg told me, but what they really lack is a system that fits their life. So what does this all mean? It means that you're not one massive leap away from being the person you want to be. You're one decision away, one micro action, one fresh start you declare for yourself. That's how the myth of big change breaks, and that's how real change begins. So now let's talk about habits, not the kind that demand 30-day challenges or color-coded spreadsheets. I am talking about tiny actions anchored to your existing routines that slowly reshape

• 7:58John R. Miles?

  how you see yourself. BJ Fogg calls this the anchor model, and here's how it works. After I pour my coffee, I'll stretch for 20 seconds. That's it. No apps, no all-or-nothing thinking, just one action tied to something that you already do. And here's the real magic. It's not about the stretching, it's about what your brain learns from the stretch. I'm a person who takes care of my body. Each action becomes a vote for your new identity. Because identity-based change, it's stickier than outcome-based change. It lasts longer, and it actually rewires the narrative that you tell And that brings me to Karen Solmanson.

• 8:43John R. Miles?

  In our conversation yesterday, Karen shared a moment that changed her entire relationship with food. She was on the phone with her publisher, obsessing over the paper quality for one of her books. Can we get thicker, toothier paper? She asked, and then she caught herself. Why, she thought, am I so discerning with my books, but not with my body? The shift wasn't about macros or meal plans. It was about identity. So she rewrote the script. I am discerning, and so I eat in a discerning way. Not, I need to stop eating junk. Not, I have to go on a diet. But I am the kind of person who chooses with care.

• 9:26John R. Miles?

  And that identity, it didn't just change what she ate. It changed how she spent her time, her energy, her attention. Because habits aren't just action, they're evidence. So let me ask you, what identity are your habits building? Maybe it's, I'm focused, so I'll take 10 minutes to plan my day. I'm generous, so I'll send one thank you note a week. I am brave, so I'll say the thing that I've been avoiding. These aren't affirmations, they're behaviors. And behaviors anchored, repeated, celebrated, build belief. So if you want big change, start small, start anchored.

• 10:11John R. Miles?

  Start with the version of yourself who's already in there, waiting for evidence. Now, celebrate it. Give yourself a fist pump, smile, a yes. Because every time you follow through on a tiny habit, you reinforce your identity. If you're listening now and thinking, this is hitting something real. I want you to stay with me because in this next part of the episode, we're going to go even deeper into what it takes to create lasting change. We're going to talk about silent patterns that hold us back and the small, powerful shifts that can rewire your identity from the inside out. So if you're finding this episode helpful, make sure you subscribe to The Ignited Life,

• 10:52John R. Miles?

  our weekly newsletter at theignitedlife.net, where you can download this week's Becoming You Companion workbook, a seven-day tool to help you rewire habits, identity, and mindset from the inside out. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

• 11:12John R. Miles?

  Welcome back. So let's say you've picked a tiny habit. You've anchored it into something real. You've even started to shift your self-perception, but then, stress hits. You're tired, you're triggered, you're scrolling for dopamine, or reaching for the snack, or zoning out instead of showing up. That's not failure. That's the loop kicking in. Dr. Judd Brewer calls this "the habit loop," and understanding it is the key to unlocking real, lasting change. Here's how it works. Every loop has three parts. First, there's the trigger. Something cues the behavior, a thought, a feeling, and environment. Second, there's the behavior. Your go-to action

• 11:55John R. Miles?

  could be checking your phone, snapping at someone, procrastinating. And then, third, the reward. What your brain thinks it's getting. Relief, distraction, control. Now, here's the trick. Your brain doesn't care if the habit is helpful. It only cares if it's rewarding, even temporarily. So what do we do? We disrupt the loop. We bring curiosity to the moment our autopilot wants to take over. Judd told me, "You can't force your brain to stop, but you can become disenchanted with the reward." Let me give you a real-world example. I asked Judd, "How do you help people quit smoking, or stress eating, or mindless doom scrolling?" He told me,

• 12:40John R. Miles?

  "You slow it down. You watch the habit as it happens. You get curious." So, instead of judging the craving, you lean into it. Ask, "What am I actually feeling right now? What do I actually get from this behavior? Does it do what I think it does?" That micro pause, that's where the loop actually starts to lose power. And over time, curiosity replaces compulsion. Because the moment you stop rewarding the old pattern is the moment your brain becomes open to a new one. This is change psychology in real life. Not motivation posters, not shame spirals, just awareness, curiosity rewiring.

• 13:25John R. Miles?

  So try this. Next time you reach for the habit that keeps you stuck, don't resist it. Just notice it and ask yourself, what am I really needing right now? And is there a better way to meet that need? That's how change begins, not with guilt, but with awareness. Not with willpower, but with design. Not with fixing who you are, but freeing who you've always been. And here's what most people get wrong about change. They think it begins with self-discipline or willpower or some dramatic turning point that finally forces their hand. But in reality, most change efforts fail because they start from the wrong emotional

• 14:06John R. Miles?

  space, not from hope, not from vision, but from self-judgment. I need to fix myself. I am not enough the way I am. If I could just be more organized, more successful, more, you can fill in the blank. That's the inner monologue for so many of us. The problem is, it doesn't work. Because lasting change doesn't grow from self-hate. It grows from self-trust. It begins when you shift your identity from someone who's flawed and failing to someone who's in the process, someone who's becoming. I've said it before, Passion Struck isn't a show about hacks.

• 14:50John R. Miles?

  It's not about gamifying your life or upgrading yourself like a software update. It's about living like you matter. Today, as you are, not after you change, not once you hit some invisible benchmark of worth. And nobody captured that idea more powerfully than Dr. Bob Rosen in our conversation this past Tuesday. We talked about the emotional attachments we carry, our need of control, of craving for certainty, our addiction for performance. These attachments can feel like armor, but they're actually weight.

• 15:27John R. Miles?

  Bob shared his own experience of letting go, not just of external expectations, but of internal scripts, of outdated narratives that told him he had to be a certain way in order to feel like he mattered. The transformation didn't come from changing his calendar or buying another planner. It came from releasing what no longer served him. He said, "If you don't look at the pain, you don't change." And that hit me because trying to fix yourself without facing what's really driving you, that's like trying to repaint a house that's still on fire. Now, contrast that with what Karen Solmanson shared. Karen didn't fix her life by scrubbing it clean of all its pain.

• 16:12John R. Miles?

  She built a new one, brick by brick, through something she calls emotional micro shifts. Micro shifts are small, but powerful acts of realignment. They're not big moves. They're honest moves, like choosing a kinder inner voice, like pausing before reacting, like journaling for five minutes instead of numbing out on your phone. And those micro shifts, they send a message to your nervous system. You're safe now. You're growing now. You're becoming someone you can trust. That's the difference between becoming and fixing. Fixing says, "I'm broken, and I need to be better." Becoming says, "I'm evolving into someone who lives in alignment." And here's what I've learned,

• 16:56John R. Miles?

  personally, painfully, and through hundreds of interviews. People don't change because they hate themselves. They change because they finally remember who they are. So here's your moment of truth. What are you clinging to that's keeping you stuck? What identity? What expectation? What fear do you need to release in order to grow? And if you did, what version of you might be waiting on the other side? Because the journey isn't about fixing the flaws part of you. It's about becoming the most honest, aligned, and powerful version of yourself. So let me bring this home for you. We like to imagine change as an explosion,

• 17:40John R. Miles?

  a grand exit, a dramatic pivot, a before and after photo that's worthy of applause. But here's the truth, most change doesn't start big. It starts honest. With one question, you finally stop avoiding. With one habit, you start to shift, not because you hate yourself, but because you finally want to care for yourself. Real transformation isn't about fixing what's broken. It's about becoming someone you trust. That happens in micro decisions, in the stretch after your morning coffee, in the breath before the reply, in the story you stop telling yourself because it no longer fits the life you're building.

• 18:21John R. Miles?

  This is what Katie Milkman, BJ Fogg, and Judd Brewer each made clear in their research. Sustainable change is identity driven, not outcome chased. Motivation isn't lightning, it's scaffolding. And your brain is more likely to believe, I'm the person who, fill in the blank, than I hope one day I'll fill in the blank. So don't wait for the new year. Don't wait for burnout or breakdown. Start where you are with the shift that fits in your next breath, because that is how it always begins. Let today be your fresh start.

• 19:02John R. Miles?

  So now it's your turn. What's one belief you're ready to question? One tiny habit you're ready to anchor? One part of your identity you're ready to reclaim? Because change doesn't happen when you become someone else. It happens when you finally show up as you were meant to be. And that's a wrap. If that resonated, I created a Becoming Workbook that accompanies this episode to help you take this from concept to practice. It's packed with journaling prompts, habit scaffolding tools, identity check-ins, and a seven-day micro shift tracker. You'll find it inside the Ignited Life newsletter on theignitedlife.net. Thanks so much for spending part of your day.

• 19:45John R. Miles?

  Stay with me. This has been episode 633 of Passion Struck, and I hope it gave you more than ideas. I hope it gave you traction. Want to watch this episode instead of just listen? Check out our full-length episodes and curated shorts on either John R. Miles or our clips channel at Passion Struck Clips. Hit subscribe while you're there. Want to bring this message home to your team or event? I speak on topics like behavior change, personal transformation, and peak performance with purpose. Find out more at johnrmiles.com/speaking. And coming up next Tuesday in episode 634, I'm joined by Kayla Shaheen, author of The Shadow Work Journal. Together, we explore intuition, emotional healing,

• 20:29John R. Miles?

  and how to come home to yourself, especially when life pulls you apart. This episode is deep, honest, and full of the kind of wisdom we usually run from, but absolutely need.

• 20:40Speaker 01

  And if we can allow ourselves to sit with the question marks and sit in the open-ended answers and come up with our truths and hear our narratives, there's so much healing that can happen throughout that process. And it's simply by drawing your attention back to yourself, because a lot of things are rooted in the self. And there's so much potential for change when we are able to channel our willpower and go through that process one-on-one with the self.

• 21:15John R. Miles?

  Until then, remember this: Ideas don't change your life, you do. Live life. Passion Struck.