The Ryan Hanley Show - Breaking Free from Identity Loops: The Hidden Trap Keeping You Stuck

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

Ever feel like you know exactly what to do, you have the resources, but you're still stuck in the mud? Ryan Hanley dives into this frustrating experience, revealing that it's not about a lack of intelligence or motivation—it's about being trapped in hidden identity loops. Ryan explains that the key to unlocking yourself isn't more knowledge, but a shift in identity. Action that aligns with the person you want to become creates the evidence needed to build belief and break free from those limiting loops. Drawing from his personal journey with ADHD, Ryan shares how adopting the identity of an organized person transformed his challenges.   In this episode, you'll learn: Why feeling stuck isn't a sign of failure. The powerful impact of unrecognized identity loops. The counterintuitive secret to breaking free: action before belief. How to model your actions after the person you aspire to be. Practical steps to start embodying your desired identity today.   Here's what psychological principles support this: Identity theory suggests that our self-concept strongly influences our behavior. Behavioral activation theory highlights the power of action in shifting mood and beliefs. Social learning theory emphasizes the role of modeling in acquiring new behaviors and identities. Stop overthinking and start acting your way to a new identity. Ryan provides the roadmap to finally break free and become the person you're meant to be.   Takeaways: • Your actions shape your identity and reality. • Assume your desired future identity to become it. • Cultivate focus on your craft and aspirations Sound Bites: •"Every action you take is a vote for the kind of person you believe you are. And every inaction, that's a vote too." • "The first step out of this loop isn't a tool, it's a question." • "My brain is built for bursts and big ideas, not systems and structure." Chapters: 00:00 Why Are You STill Stuck? 00:16 Break Negative Sales Beliefs 06:12 Top 1% Reading Curriculum 06:45 "Evolve: Make Your Move" 📌 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗡: Website: https://go.ryanhanley.com/ Course Page: https://masteroftheclose.com/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ryan-hanley-show/id1480262657 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AZFuTiQsgS9hMQDDdtlOr?si=98432b7806534486 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryan_hanley

You've read the books, you've watched the videos, you've bought the courses, but nothing's changed. You're still stuck. What if I told you the reason you're stuck has nothing to do with how smart, skilled, or motivated you are? This is not what you think. But here's what you do know. Being stuck sucks. It sucks the life out of you. It drains your energy.

It clouds your confidence. You wake up tired, even after eight hours of sleep, because your brain is burning fuel, fighting a war inside itself. You feel guilty for not doing more, ashamed for not being further ahead, and yet somehow paralyzed when it's time to take action. Your to-do list grows, your ambition shrinks, and no matter how many wins you should be celebrating, you feel like you're constantly underperforming. Not because you're lazy, but because you're stuck in an invisible cage you can't see, but you definitely feel it. The weight isn't just mental, it's physical.

That pressure in your chest, in the pit of your stomach, that nagging thought before you go to bed, why can't I just do this already? You're not imagining it. You're trapped in a loop. But what if I told you you're not in a loop by accident? You've been trained into it. And the worst part, most people will spend their entire life inside that loop, never knowing it exists. And this is crucial because if you don't understand this next part,

you're going to confuse inaction with identity. Every action you take is a vote for the kind of person you believe you are. And every inaction, that's a vote too. Let's say the belief is, I'm not someone who finishes things. You start strong but halfway through you stall. You get distracted. You self sabotage. You ghost your own goals and the result you prove yourself right. See I knew I couldn't do this and the loop tightens. With every cycle the belief hardens. You don't just believe it you become it. Let's do one more because this loop doesn't just show up in our habits. It also hijacks our business.

Let's say our belief is I'm not good at sales. You dread pitching, cold calling, you avoid follow ups, you hide behind your website and you call it branding. But what if you were never bad at sales? What if you were just taught to sell in a way that felt misaligned? So you stop trying all together. The loop isn't just wrong, it's costly. Every cycle you run without challenging it, you leave money, opportunity, and confidence on the table.

So how do you escape it? How do you rewrite the loop? How do you rewrite the loop when it's the only thing that's been guiding your behavior for years? You won't believe how simple the first step is, and yet almost nobody takes it. The first step out of this loop isn't a tool, it's a question. And this reminds me of something that Dr. Jordan Peterson once said, someone who I admire. When he was asked if he believes in God, he gave a surprising answer. He said, I act as if God exists. Whether

he believes or not, he lives in alignment with the values, principles, the direction. Why? Because that way of acting leads to meaning, to order, to strength. He doesn't wait to believe in God to start behaving like someone who does. And that's the key. You don't need to fully believe in your future self right now. You just need to start acting as if they exist because those actions will create belief. Now let me get real for a second with you. This isn't just theory for me. I have hardcore ADHD and for years organization felt like pure fiction. My brain is built for bursts and big ideas, not systems and structure. It almost caused me physical pain to slow down and get organized. And because of that,

my business suffered. Then I learned about identity loops and I decided to try something different. I started saying to myself, I'm an organized person. And I'd ask, what would an organized person do right now? The answer was always the same. They'd have a system So I built one it wasn't perfect and it's still not great and I'm still not great at organization But it's no longer dragging my business down because I stopped waiting to feel organized I just started acting like someone who was that version of you the one who does take action who speaks with clarity Who finishes what they start, that version of you already exists. And every time you act in alignment with that identity, the loop starts to crack.

So here is the identity flip formula, act, evidence, belief. You take the action first, then your brain collects proof. Hey, maybe I am the kind of person that does this now. And that's how the new identity is born. Confidence isn't something you wait for. It's something you build one rep at a time. So let me ask you, what would the future version of you do after watching this video? And maybe you're thinking, I don't even know who that future version is. That's okay.

You don't need a crystal clear vision. You just need a direction. So here's a shortcut. Find someone who's already living the life you want, then ask, what would they do in this moment? If you want to build something legendary, think of Steve Jobs. Would he hesitate to pitch an idea? Would he scroll TikTok instead of designing? Would he let fear stop him from shipping something imperfect? No, he'd ship it. Then he'd make it better. If you wanna build a powerful personal brand, think of Matt Gray.

Ask, what would Matt do? Would he spend weeks tweaking his logo or would he publish the idea today and get 30,000 eyeballs on it? He'd post, he'd launch, he'd trust the process because the process works. You don't need to have to guess who your future self is. You just have to borrow the blueprint from someone already living it.

Until day one. Until one day, you become the blueprint for someone else. Because this is the moment you've been waiting for. The loop doesn't have to have power over you. Once you choose to break it, just take action and iterate from there. I believe in you. I know you can do this. And if you need help, just comment below. Let's talk about it. And if you're serious about becoming the best version of yourself, start feeding your mind the way the top 1% do. I put together a curriculum of the 100 must read books for fearless entrepreneurs

and leaders. There's a link below. Click it, enter your email, and I'll send you that curriculum right away. It's packed with mindsets, habits, frameworks, it's biographies, historical lessons that when applied to your entrepreneurial endeavor will give you the confidence that you need. It will give you those actions that you need to take, whether you believe they are inside you or not. They are. You're not stuck because you're broken. You're stuck because you're ready to evolve.

The next move is yours. Go get after it. This is the way. in a crude laboratory in the basement of his home